Labour Costs Survey 2004

The Labour Costs Survey 2004 report presents the results of a survey of labour costs for the year 2004. In addition to wages and salaries, labour costs include items such as social security payments by employers (both statutory and voluntary), benefits in kind, training costs, and recruitment costs.

The survey covered all enterprises which had 10 or more employees in 2004 in the following sectors; industrial, construction, distribution, hotels & restaurants, transport, storage and communications, financial intermediation, business services, public administration and defence, education, health and other community, social and personal service activities.

The CSO wishes to thank the employers who provided information for the survey. This will be the last labour cost survey in its current format and the survey will be replaced by a new quarterly earnings, hours and employment costs survey.

The results for 2004 show that:

• Total labour costs for the economy in 2004 were approximately €44 billion. Wages and salaries made up €38 billion and other labour costs €6 billion.

• Regular wages were 74% of all labour costs while total social security payments accounted for 12%.

• The average annual labour cost across all sectors in 2004 was €43,753. The highest average annual labour costs were in the financial sector at €56,393 with the lowest being in the hotels and restaurants sector at €23,356. In the public sector the annual average labour costs were €52,342 compared with €40,155 in the private sector.

• The overall hourly labour cost was €25.47. The hourly labour costs were highest in the education sector at €45.67 while the lowest once again was in the hotels & restaurants sector at €13.14 per hour.

• Average annual hours worked (which excludes annual and other paid leave), was 1,728 hours for full-time employees and 843 hours for part-time employees in 2004.

• The increase in average annual labour costs per full-time equivalent employee from 2000 to 2004 was 30% for comparable sectors. The increases ranged from 33.3% in the distribution sector to 11.7% in the business services sector.

Labour Costs Survey 2004 is priced at €7.00 and is available from:

The Central Statistics Office, Information Section, Skehard Road, Cork.

or

The Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street,

Dublin 2.

For further information contact

Paul Crowley, Senior Statistician (021-453 5090) or

Bernadette Cabry, Statistician (021-453 5308)

LoCall: 1890 313 414

Internet www.cso.ie
Email: lcs@cso.ie

21 December 2006

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