Earnings continue to rise but public sector workers see wages grow faster

The good news is that average weekly earnings continue to rise across the country; the bad news for private sector workers is that the gains made by public sector workers continue to outstrip private sector wage increases.

According to latest figures from the Central Statistics Office, average weekly earnings rose by 1.7 per cent in the year to September 2017, up to €714.41, as average hourly earnings rose by 2.3 per cent to €22.04. The sector with the highest average wage is information and communication (€ 1,078.64), followed by the financial, insurance and real estate sector at € 1,001.00. Accomodation and food services (€344.08) has the lowest average weekly earnings, followed by the arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector (€457.75).

Employees in the administrative and support services sector enjoyed the largest wage rise, at 6.3 per cent to €553.10, followed by those in the professional, scientific and technical sector, where wages rose by 4.8 per cent. However, weekly wages actually fell during the third quarter, down by 5 per cent a week on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The figures also show the widening gap in public versus private sector wages. Private sector earnings fell back by 0.8 per cent from Q2 to Q3 to €652.51, while earnings continue to rise at a faster rate in the public sector, advancing by 2.7 per cent on an annual basis, or by 0.6 per cent on a quarterly basis, partly due to wage restoration from April 2017. And average public sector earnings are also considerably higher than those in the private sector, at €942.55, or a difference of €228.14. An Garda Síochána employees recorded the highest average weekly earnings in the public sector of € 1,322.32 in Q3 2017.

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The latest figures also show how slow wage growth has been in recent years. When looked at over the past five years, wages have only grown by 3 per cent, from € 693.74 in Q3 2012 to € 714.41 in 2017. The biggest decline was observed in education, where wages have fallen by 6 per cent over the period, while the biggest advance was in professional, scientific and technical sector, where wages soared by 14 per cent.

* This article was amended on the 27th of November.