Average weekly earnings up 4% to €770

Average weekly earnings rose 3.9 per cent in the year to March 2019, pushing earnings up to the highest level since the series began in 2008.

According to figures published by the Central Statistics Office on Monday, average weekly earnings stood at €769.98 as of the first quarter of 2019, up by 3.4 per cent on a year earlier, with earnings rising across 11 of 13 economic sectors.

The largest percentage increase, of 10 per cent, was reported in the administrative and support services sector, where average weekly earnings rose from €556.28 to €611.86 in the year. The second-largest increase was 8.7 per cent in the transportation and storage sector, up from €764.05 to €830.37 over the year.

On a five-year basis, earnings are up by 10 per cent, with earnings growth fastest in the information and communications sector (+21.2 per cent). The lowest rate of growth over the period was in the public admin and defence sector (+4.6 per cent).

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Highest earnings

Workers in the information and communication sector reported the highest average weekly earnings, of €1,257.47, followed by the financial, insurance and real-estate activities sector, with earnings of some €1,230.21. The lowest average weekly earnings were in the accommodation and food service activities sector, where earnings stood at just €353.67, followed by weekly earnings of €511.94 in the arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector.

Average hourly earnings rose by 2.3 per cent to €23.93, with the highest average hourly earnings reported in the education sector. The lowest earnings were in the accommodation and food services sector, with average hourly earnings of €13.31.

Earnings growth in the private sector outpaced that in the public, at 4.2 per cent in the former compared with 1.2 per cent in the latter. However, public sector workers remain better paid, with average weekly earnings of €964.36 compared with €714.67 in the private sector.

Employees of An Garda Síochána recorded the highest average weekly earnings in the public sector, of €1,252.81. The lowest-paid public sector workers were in the regional bodies, with average weekly earnings of €843.92.

The numbers working in the public sector also rose, up 1.4 per cent over the year from 397,500 to 403,100.