AVERAGE WEEKLY earnings in the public sector rose by 3.2 per cent from €942.81 to €973.09 in the year to the end of June, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

However, the data also reveals the number of people employed in the public sector fell by 2,700 during the same period to 370,400.

According to the figures, which exclude health workers, average weekly earnings in the public sector rose by 16.1 per cent from June 2005 to June 2009. In June 2005, public-sector employees were paid on average €838.35 a week.

For the year to June 30th, weekly earnings for Civil Service staff rose by 4.7 per cent from €889.82 to €931.46, while for the defence sector they rose by 4.3 per cent from €799.65 to €834.06.

During the same period, average weekly earnings for members of the Garda, inclusive of overtime, fell by 3.1 per cent from €1,247.74 to €1,208.50. However, their weekly earnings excluding overtime rose by 0.6 per cent from €1,093.16 to €1,099.25.

Over the four-year period to the end of June 2009, average weekly earnings for staff employed in regional bodies rose by 19.2 per cent from €720.92 to €859.70.

Earnings for public-sector staff working for semi-State organisations rose by 17.8 per cent over the same period from €898.01 to €1,058.26 a week.

Earnings for gardaí, inclusive of overtime, rose by 11.6 per cent over the four years, while average weekly earnings for staff employed in the third-level sector rose by 22 per cent from €918.27 to €1,127.68.