The average weekly pay in Ireland increased by nearly 5 per cent in the past year and has remained above €1,000 for the third quarter in a row.
In the third quarter of 2024, average weekly earnings were €1,003.81, an increased of 4.9 per cent compared with €956.56 in the same period in 2024, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
On average, workers have seen an increase in their purchasing power in the past 12 months, as earnings increased relative to inflation despite the cost of living crisis. The 4.9 per cent increase in average pay outweighed a nearly 3 per cent increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the year to October.
Some sectors outperformed, but earnings rose across all sectors. Pay grew the most in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, increasing 8.7 per cent against the third quarter of 2024, a 7.7 per cent increase in accommodation & food services represented the second largest hike.
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The average hourly salary in Ireland now stands at €30.48 – up 4.3 per cent year-on-year with the average number of hours worked per week increasing marginally in the period.
On the employer-side, the average costs of an hour’s labour was highest in the information and communication sector at €59.83, followed by €50.73 in the education sector. The lowest cost of an hour of labour was seen in the accommodation and food sector at just €19.95.
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This was replicated in the hourly pay figures. Information and communication workers were the highest paid workers in the State, earning on average €1,697.7 per week, up 2.8 per cent year on year, followed by employees in the financial insurance and real estate sector.
Workers in the accommodation and food services sector were the lowest paid earning on average €481.6, up 7.7 per cent annually, which reflects the high level of part-time staff in the sector.
Gardaí were the best paid public servants, earning an average of €1,625.33 for 44.4 hours worked each week, up from €1,587.5 for the same period in 2024. This was far above the average weekly pay in the public sector of €1,244.45, which was itself an improvement on €1,168.7 in the third quarter of 2024.
The lowest average weekly earnings in the public sector were those to staff of regional bodies which surpassed the four-figure mark, rising from €987.6 to €1,015.7.
The largest sector in the public service is healthcare workers. The sector represents nearly 170,000 people who made an average of €1,282.3 each week, an increase of almost €103 on the third quarter last year. This was the largest annual increase of any sector.
Dr Niall O’Sullivan CSO statistician noted that average earnings “continue to increase year-on-year” and pointed to the “stable job vacancy rate” over the past 18 months. The recent CSO Labour Force Survey for the third quarter also pointed to annual employment growth of 1.1 per cent, he said.
