Private-sector earnings rise 1.5% as public-sector pay falls

Private-sector workers saw weekly earnings rise 1.5 per cent in the second quarter to €635.52 while their counterparts in the public sector experienced a 1.2 per cent decline, new figures show.

Average weekly earnings increased to €703.83 in the second quarter, up 0.5 per cent on the same three months a year earlier, and by 2.1 per cent compared with the €689.32 recorded in the corresponding quarter five years ago.

Public-sector earnings

Earnings in the public sector dropped from €917.24 to €905.97 compared with the second quarter of 2015, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The decline was largely due to the recruitment of temporary census field staff. When temporary staff are excluded, public-sector average weekly earnings decreased 0.3 per cent to €914.58.

Average weekly pay rates in the public sector were nearly 50 per cent higher than those in the private sector in 2014, when staff were earning on average €919, almost €300 higher than the €622 recorded for those outside the sector.

The highest earnings of €1,063.39 per week in the second quarter of 2016 were in the information and communications sector, with those in the financial, insurance and real-estate sector close behind on €1,014,66 on average.

The lowest earners were in the accommodation and food services sector, with weekly earnings of €331.81.

According to the data, weekly earnings rose in nine of the 13 sectors it measures in the year to the second quarter. The largest increase was in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, where earnings jumped 5 per cent from €800.41 to €840.39.

Construction earnings

Earnings in the construction sector rose 3.9 per cent on an annual basis to €734.49 from €706.83.

The public administration and defence sector recorded the largest sectoral decrease over the year with earnings down 3.4 per cent from €933 to €900.88. The CSO attributed the decline to the recruitment of temporary census field staff.

Seasonally adjusted weekly earnings for the second quarter totalled €702.66, down 0.3 per cent on the previous quarter.

The number of hours people worked per week during the second quarter increased, albeit marginally. Weekly paid hours rose 0.3 per cent to 32.1 hours compared with 31.7 hours in the prior year.

Hourly earnings were up 0.2 per cent to €21.93 from €21.89 with average hourly total labour costs stable at €25.32.