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For more information on this release:
E-mail: earnings@cso.ie Brian Cahill (+353) 21 453 5173 Gerard Brett/Ronan O'Sullivan (+353) 21 453 5513/5216 Karen Desmond/Sheila Bulman (+353) 21 453 5512 /5222
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5023
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly

Q3 2018 (Final) Q4 2018 (Preliminary Estimates)

 Unadjusted Seasonally Adjusted
 Average Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly Paid HoursAverage Hourly Total Labour CostsAverage Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly Paid HoursAverage Hourly Total Labour Costs
  € €Hours € € €Hours €
Q4 2017731.8622.6032.426.31728.5022.6032.326.22
Q3 2018742.7522.6232.826.12753.1923.1432.526.72
Q4 2018*761.6523.4632.527.14762.2223.4032.527.16
Quarterly change %    1.21.1-1.6
Annual change %4.13.80.33.2    
* Preliminary Estimates    

Average weekly earnings up 4.1% in year to Q4 2018

Average weekly earnings by economic sector
go to full release

Average weekly earnings were €761.65 in Q4 2018, an increase of 4.1% from €731.86 one year earlier according to preliminary estimates of the Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly release. Final data for average weekly earnings in Q3 2018 were €742.75 and showed an increase of 3.5% over the same period in 2017. See tables 1 and 4. 

Other features of the preliminary results for Q4 2018 include:

  • Average hourly earnings increased by 3.8% between Q4 2017 and Q4 2018, rising from €22.60 to €23.46. See table 2.
  • Average weekly paid hours increased by 0.3% between Q4 2017 and Q4 2018, from 32.4 to 32.5. See table 3.
  • Average hourly total labour costs were €27.14 in the fourth quarter of 2018, a rise of 3.2% from the value of €26.31 one year previously. See table 6c.
  • Seasonally adjusted average weekly earnings in Q4 2018 were €762.22, an increase of 1.2% from the previous quarter. See table 4.  
  • Average weekly earnings increased by 2.3% across the public sector and by 4.4% across the private sector in the year to Q4 2018. See table 1 and table 8a.
  • The job vacancy rate at the end of Q4 2018 was 0.9%, down from 1.0% at the end of Q4 2017. See table 7c.

For frequently asked questions regarding data presented in this release, please see here.

Unadjusted average weekly earnings increase in all 13 sectors in year to Q4 2018

Average weekly earnings were €761.65 in Q4 2018, which represents average earnings in the Irish economy. There are variations in earnings across the sectors of the economy with the highest average weekly earnings of €1,175.46 in the Information and Communication sector, followed by the Financial, insurance and real estate activities sector at €1,084.89. The lowest average weekly earnings were €360.73 in the Accommodation and food service activities sector and €493.12 in the Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector. See table 1 and figure 2.

Average weekly earnings increased in all 13 sectors of the economy in the year to Q4 2018. The largest percentage increase was 10.5% in the Administrative and support services sector where average weekly earnings rose from €547.52 to €605.01 in the year to Q4 2018. The second largest increase was 9.1% in the Transportation and storage sector which rose from €781.47 to €852.79 over the year. See table 1 and figure 2.

Average weekly earnings in the public sector (including semi-state) showed an increase of 2.3% from €944.64 to €966.40 in the year to Q4 2018. There was also an increase in average weekly earnings in the private sector of 4.4%, from €672.47 to €702.24 over the same period. See table 1.

In the five years to Q4 2018 average weekly earnings rose by 9.7%, from €694.03 in Q4 2013 to €761.65. All sectors have seen increases to average weekly earnings across individual sectors over this period, ranging between +21.8% in the Administrative and support service activities sector and 0.5% in the Arts, entertainment, recreation and other services sector. See table 1 and figure 2. 

Note: While there is no internationally agreed methodology for assessing the public / private sector wage gap, the CSO has published analyses of the differential using the National Employment Survey for 2007-2010 and a matched Quarterly National Household Survey and P35 dataset for 2011-2014. These analyses took account of compositional differences between the public and private sector, such as occupational mix, sectors of activity, gender balance, union membership, etc. The public sector pay gap in 2014 was estimated to range from -0.36% to +5.05% depending on the specification applied and the treatment of the Pension Levy.  See analysis for 2007-2010 here and for 2011-2014 here.

5 Year % Change
Admin & support service21.7912070214993
Information and communication17.2025963925698
Professional & technical15.0077693898276
Accommodation & food14.5902160101652
Transportation12.8387318725521
Wholesale & retail11.8631991449947
Construction10.8209720418347
Financial & real estate10.2889150943396
All Sectors9.74309467890437
Health & social8.45380450948897
Industry7.99552529650924
Education5.41179062821329
Public admin & defence3.21165833054261
Arts & entertainment0.45223059686291
                                                                       Nace code description
Total All Sectors K-L Financial, insurance and real estate activities
B-E Industry M Professional, scientific and technical activities
F Construction N Administrative and support service activities
G Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles O Public Administration and defence; compulsory social security
H Transportation and storage P Education
I Accommodation and food service activities Q Human health and social work activities
J Information and communication R-S Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities

 

Average hourly earnings increase 3.8% to €23.46 in year to Q4 2018

Average hourly earnings were €23.46 in Q4 2018. The sector with the highest average hourly earnings was the Education sector with a rate of €36.27, followed by the Information and communication sector at €32.32. The lowest earning sectors were the Accommodation and food services sector with average hourly earnings of €13.33 and the Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector with a rate of €17.59.

Average hourly earnings increased from €22.60 in Q4 2017 to €23.46 in Q4 2018, representing an increase of 3.8%. Seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings increased 1.2% in the quarter to Q4 2018, rising from €23.14 to €23.40. See table 2, table 4 and figure 3.

UnadjustedSeasonally Adjusted
Q41122.0621.79
Q11222.2521.95
Q21221.9621.99
Q31221.8222.07
Q41221.921.95
Q11322.2421.91
Q21322.0221.97
Q31321.5322.01
Q41321.8922.08
Q11422.3721.76
Q21421.8121.85
Q31421.221.83
Q41422.0522
Q11522.321.91
Q21521.8621.88
Q31521.521.9
Q41521.9121.88
Q11622.5522.01
Q21621.9721.97
Q31621.5622.06
Q41622.1822.07
Q11722.6922.2
Q21722.2722.38
Q31722.1622.51
Q41722.622.6
Q11823.422.81
Q21822.9422.98
Q31822.6223.14
Q418*23.4623.4

Average hourly earnings increased in all 13 sectors in the year to Q4 2018. The Transportation and storage sector had the largest increase in average hourly earnings of 10.2% rising from €21.45 to €23.63 in the year. The Professional, scientific and technical activities sector saw the smallest increase in average hourly earnings in Q4 2018, rising 0.1% from €27.09 to €27.11. See table 2 and figure 4.

Q4 2017Q4 2018
Industry22.8623.35
Construction20.6721.92
Wholesale & retail18.6819.38
Transportation21.4523.63
Accommodation & food12.913.33
Information & communication30.5132.32
Financial & real estate30.0331.15
Professional & technical27.0927.11
Admin & support service17.4118.57
Public admin & defence25.5526.07
Education35.1236.27
Health & social22.5323.13
Arts & entertainment17.1117.59
All sectors22.623.46

In the five years to Q4 2018 average hourly earnings increased by 7.2% from €21.89 to €23.46. Over this period average hourly earnings have increased in all of the 13 sectors. The largest percentage increase was recorded in the Information and communication sector (+17.5%) rising from €27.50 to €32.32. The smallest percentage increase in average hourly earnings over the same period was recorded in the Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service sector (2.0%) increasing from €17.24 to €17.59.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees showed an annual increase of 5.4% in average hourly earnings in Q4 2018, up from €19.01 to €20.03. Enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees recorded an increase in average hourly earnings of 4.0%, from €20.54 to €21.36 over the same period. Finally, enterprises with greater than 250 employees showed an increase of 2.5% in the year to Q4 2018 for average hourly earnings with values rising from €25.76 to €26.41.

Public sector average hourly earnings rose 2.6%, from €28.89 to €29.63 in the year to Q4 2018. Private sector average hourly earnings increased 4.0% from €20.83 to €21.66 over the same period. 

Average weekly paid hours increase 0.3% to 32.5 in year to Q4 2018

Average weekly paid hours were 32.5 across the economic sectors in the fourth quarter of 2018. There are sectoral variations in average weekly paid hours with workers in the Industry sector recording the highest number at 38.4 followed by the Construction sector at 37.0. The sectors with the lowest average weekly paid hours were the Education sector at 23.7 and the Accommodation and food service activities sector at 27.1. See table 3, table 4 and figure 5.

UnadjustedSeasonally Adjusted
Q41131.631.6
Q11231.431.6
Q21231.531.5
Q31231.731.5
Q41231.631.5
Q11331.231.6
Q21331.631.6
Q31331.731.6
Q41331.731.6
Q11431.331.7
Q21431.831.8
Q31431.931.7
Q41431.831.7
Q11531.431.8
Q2153232
Q31532.232
Q41532.532
Q11631.732
Q21632.132.1
Q31632.632.2
Q41632.432.4
Q1173232.4
Q21732.432.4
Q31732.432.2
Q41732.432.3
Q11831.832.3
Q21832.532.4
Q31832.832.5
Q41832.532.5

Average weekly paid hours increased 0.3% to 32.5 in the year to Q4 2018. Seasonally adjusted average weekly paid hours were unchanged in Q4 2018 at 32.5.

7 of the 13 sectors saw growth in average weekly paid hours in the year to Q4 2018. The largest annual percentage increase was recorded in the Administrative and support services sector, increasing 3.5% from 31.5 to 32.6 hours.  6 of the 13 sectors recorded a decrease in hours in the year with Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motor cycles sector recording the largest decrease at -1.3%.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees and with between 50 and 250 employees recorded increases in weekly paid hours in the year to Q4 2018 of 1.0% and 0.3% respectively. Enterprises with greater than 250 employees showed a decrease of -0.6% in average weekly paid hours over the same period. 

The public sector recorded a decrease in average weekly paid hours of -0.3% from 32.7 to 32.6 in the year to Q4 2018. Private sector average weekly paid hours increased 0.3% over the same period, from 32.3 to 32.4. See table 3.

Average hourly total labour costs increase by 3.2% in year to Q4 2018

Average hourly total labour costs were €27.14 across all the economic sectors in Q4 2018. The sector with the highest average hourly total labour costs was the Education sector with a rate of €40.11, followed by the Financial, insurance and real estate sector at €39.81. The sectors with the lowest cost of employing labour were the Accommodation and food service activities sector with average hourly total labour costs of €14.79 and the Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector with €20.08. 

Unadjusted average hourly total labour costs increased by 3.2% in the year to Q4 2018. Seasonally adjusted average hourly total labour costs increased 1.6% in the quarter, rising to €27.16 in Q4 2018.

The largest annual percentage increase in average hourly total labour costs was seen in the Transportation and storage sector, rising by 9.7% from €25.17 to €27.62 per hour. The only annual decrease in average hourly total labour costs was in the Professional, scientific and technical sector at -0.4% (from €31.55 to €31.42).

In the year to Q4 2018 the average hourly total labour costs in firms with less than 50 employees increased by 4.1% (from €21.77 to €22.67) and there was a 3.9% increase for firms with 50 to 250 employees (from €23.88 to €24.81). Enterprises with greater than 250 employees recorded an increase of 2.1% in average hourly total labour costs over the same period (from €30.21 to €30.84). See table 4 and table 6c.

The public sector average hourly total labour costs increased 2.6% in the year to Q4 2018, from €32.14 to €32.96 while the private sector also recorded an increase in average hourly total labour costs of 3.2% from €24.66 to €25.45 in the year.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 5.9% over the five years to Q4 2018, from €25.62 per hour to €27.14. The percentage changes across the sectors ranged from +13.5% in the Administration and support services sector (from €18.87 to €21.42) to +1.5% in the Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector (from €19.78 to €20.08). See table 6c and figure 6.

5 Year % Change
Admin & support service13.5135135135135
Wholesale & retail11.5136476426799
Accommodation & food10.3731343283582
Construction7.91429820725841
Professional & technical7.78730703259006
Transportation7.05426356589147
Education6.11111111111112
All Sectors5.93286494925839
Financial & real estate5.87765957446809
Industry5.32390171258377
Health & social4.88201790073231
Public admin & defence3.41693929480188
Information and communication2.71611386785061
Arts & entertainment1.51668351870575

Average weekly earnings increase 2.3% across the public sector in year to Q4 2018

Average weekly earnings were €966.40 across the public sector in Q4 2018. An Garda Síochána recorded the highest average weekly earnings in the public sector of €1,232.53 in Q4 2018, followed by the Semi-state sector which recorded average weekly earnings of €1,042.96. The Regional bodies sector had the lowest average weekly earnings of €844.42. The Education sector recorded the highest average hourly earnings in the quarter of €40.46 while also showing the lowest hours worked of 24.6. An Garda Síochána had the next highest average hourly earnings in the quarter of €29.24 while also working the longest hours of 42.2.

Average weekly earnings increased by 2.3% across the public sector in the year to Q4 2018, rising from €944.64 to €966.40. Six of the seven public sector sub-sectors had annual increases in average weekly earnings, with the Education sector recording the largest rise of 3.6% from €962.88 to €997.23 in the year to Q4 2018. An Garda Síochána recorded a decrease of -4.4% falling from €1,288.81 to €1,232.53 over the same period. See tables 8a, 8b, 8c and figure 7.

Q4 2017Q4 2018
Civil service926.6944.88
Defence843.24857.96
Garda Siochana1288.811232.53
Education962.88997.23
Regional bodies824.53844.42
Health896.26919.64
Semi-state1027.671042.96
All sectors944.64966.4

Annual increase of 1.7% in public sector employment in Q4 2018

The estimated number of persons employed in the public sector showed an increase of 1.7% over the year to Q4 2018 from 396,000 to 402,600. 

In the year to Q4 2018 the largest percentage increase was recorded in An Garda Síochána sector, increasing 4.3% from 13,800 to 14,400. The Defence sector saw a fall of 1.1% in employment over the same period. Over the five years from Q4 2013 to Q4 2018 overall employment numbers in the public sector have increased by 6.9% from 376,500 to 402,600. See table 8e and figure 8.

Q4 2017Q4 2018
Civil service4100042100
Defence94009300
Garda Siochana1380014400
Education113900113800
Regional bodies3340034300
Health129900133300
Semi-state5450055400

Table 8e contains estimates of public sector employment numbers by sub-sector within the overall public sector. Public sector employment is spread across a number of NACE economic sectors and includes Semi-state bodies in sectors such as Transportation and storage and Information and communication. Furthermore, while employment in the Public administration and defence, Education, Human health and social work sectors is for the most part comprised of public sector employees, there is some element of private sector employment across these sectors.

 Job vacancy rate 0.9% in Q4 2018

The job vacancy rate at the end of Q4 2018 was 0.9%, the same rate as a year earlier. In Q4 2018 the Professional, scientific and technical sector had the highest job vacancy rate of 2.7%, followed by the Financial, insurance and real estate sector, with a rate of 2.2%. The Construction sector had the lowest job vacancy rate of 0.3% at the end of Q4 2018. See table 7c and figure 9.

The rounded number of job vacancies at the end of Q4 2018 was 16,300, representing a decrease of 1,400 from the number of vacancies at the end of Q4 2017, and a decrease of 2,900 on the vacancies reported at the end of Q3 2018. See table 7b.

Job Vacancy Rate
Q4110.5
Q1120.6
Q2120.5
Q3120.6
Q4120.6
Q1130.6
Q2130.7
Q3130.7
Q4130.7
Q1140.7
Q2140.7
Q3140.8
Q4140.7
Q1151
Q2150.9
Q3151
Q4150.9
Q1161
Q2160.9
Q3161
Q4160.9
Q1171
Q2171.1
Q3171.1
Q4171
Q1181
Q2181.2
Q3181
Q4180.9
Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry831.34854.33855.32863.29882.56875.54897.8122.272.515.251.7
FConstruction731.45754.13748.14750.88750.64796.07810.6014.531.859.968.0
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles533.33528.96551.59571.38582.99566.53596.6030.075.313.612.3
HTransportation and storage755.76755.91755.05772.38781.47818.45852.7934.344.271.329.1
IAccommodation and food services314.80320.87323.88335.04346.64368.18360.73-7.45-2.014.094.1
JInformation and communication1,002.931,031.331,070.311,047.741,113.041,175.921,175.46-0.460.062.425.6
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate983.681,070.651,026.191,024.661,043.031,056.701,084.8928.192.741.864.0
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities817.31791.55828.75884.75916.65901.37939.9738.604.323.322.5
NAdministrative and support services 496.76500.00527.24531.42547.52575.02605.0129.995.257.4910.5
OPublic administration and defence925.69921.53928.80921.76943.25945.47955.429.951.112.171.3
PEducation816.92804.18822.40812.33838.91857.76861.133.370.422.222.6
QHuman health and social work672.36678.89695.83684.92703.46715.26729.2013.941.925.743.7
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities490.90491.20475.13475.92477.59493.43493.12-0.31-0.115.533.3
All Sectors 694.03702.07711.23717.52731.86742.75761.6518.902.529.794.1
Public/Private Sector²           
Private sector630.10642.34650.10662.26672.47681.70702.2420.543.029.774.4
Public sector¹907.23909.11925.78918.10944.64960.14966.406.260.721.762.3
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees550.21550.41557.42573.33577.26586.61615.3628.754.938.106.6
50-250 employees647.11653.43667.29656.41678.24684.26706.9622.703.328.724.2
Greater than 250 employees819.60830.41841.62848.02864.53871.73882.9411.211.318.412.1
¹ Average weekly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8a.
² For additional Public/Private data see StatBank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry21.8522.2922.0122.3522.8622.7023.350.652.90.492.1
FConstruction20.3219.9620.2920.4220.6720.9221.921.004.81.256.0
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles17.4217.3417.6518.3918.6817.8819.381.508.40.703.7
HTransportation and storage21.4620.9620.5021.5521.4522.7723.630.863.82.1810.2
IAccommodation and food services12.2612.4112.3912.6012.9012.8713.330.463.60.433.3
JInformation and communication27.5028.4129.3929.1330.5131.9332.320.391.21.815.9
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate28.9431.0628.9829.0030.0330.0231.151.133.81.123.7
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities24.7524.5124.6825.7327.0926.4727.110.642.40.020.1
NAdministrative and support services 16.6016.6217.0117.2117.4117.9018.570.673.71.166.7
OPublic administration and defence25.4625.5025.6325.2025.5525.7126.070.361.40.522.0
PEducation34.3334.3734.2633.7635.1236.1036.270.170.51.153.3
QHuman health and social work22.3122.1822.0222.2222.5322.7923.130.341.50.602.7
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities17.2417.4817.0216.8217.1117.0217.590.573.30.482.8
All Sectors 21.8922.0521.9122.1822.6022.6223.460.843.70.863.8
Public/Private Sector²           
Private sector19.9620.2420.0820.5020.8320.7221.660.944.50.834.0
Public sector¹28.2528.2628.2428.2228.8929.4429.630.190.60.742.6
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees18.3418.2718.1618.6319.0118.8220.031.216.41.025.4
50-250 employees19.8419.9620.1920.1820.5420.3821.360.984.80.824.0
Greater than 250 employees25.1225.3625.0925.3625.7625.8626.410.552.10.652.5
¹ Average hourly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8b.
² For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  hourshourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
B-EIndustry38.138.338.938.638.638.638.4-0.2-0.5-0.2-0.5
FConstruction36.037.836.936.836.338.037.0-1.0-2.60.71.9
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles30.630.531.331.131.231.730.8-0.9-2.8-0.4-1.3
HTransportation and storage35.236.136.835.836.435.936.10.20.6-0.3-0.8
IAccommodation and food services25.725.826.126.626.928.627.1-1.5-5.20.20.7
JInformation and communication36.536.336.436.036.536.836.4-0.4-1.1-0.1-0.3
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate34.034.535.435.334.735.234.8-0.4-1.10.10.3
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities33.032.333.634.433.834.134.70.61.80.92.7
NAdministrative and support services 29.930.131.030.931.532.132.60.51.61.13.5
OPublic administration and defence36.436.136.236.636.936.836.6-0.2-0.5-0.3-0.8
PEducation23.823.424.024.123.923.823.7-0.1-0.4-0.2-0.8
QHuman health and social work30.130.631.630.831.231.431.50.10.30.31.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities28.528.127.928.327.929.028.0-1.0-3.40.10.4
All Sectors 31.731.832.532.432.432.832.5-0.3-0.90.10.3
Public/Private Sector²           
Private sector31.631.732.432.332.332.932.4-0.5-1.50.10.3
Public sector¹32.132.232.832.532.732.632.6---0.1-0.3
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees30.030.130.730.830.431.230.7-0.5-1.60.31.0
50-250 employees32.632.733.032.533.033.633.1-0.5-1.50.10.3
Greater than 250 employees32.632.733.533.433.633.733.4-0.3-0.9-0.2-0.6
¹ Average weekly paid hours by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8c.
² For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 4 Earnings, hours and labour costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by other characteristics and quarter
 Unadjusted Series Seasonally Adjusted Series
QuarterAverage weekly earningsAverage weekly paid hoursAverage hourly earningsAverage hourly other labour costsAverage hourly total labour costs Average weekly earningsAverage weekly paid hoursAverage hourly earningsAverage hourly other labour costsAverage hourly total labour costs
Q108704.6032.721.563.5125.07 701.2132.921.333.4724.75
Q208705.2832.821.503.4024.90 706.1932.821.553.4625.01
Q308696.1132.821.203.4124.61 709.2732.621.753.5025.25
Q408721.8932.522.243.6025.84 712.4332.522.023.4825.53
Q109709.5531.622.443.5926.03 711.5731.922.213.6125.81
Q209700.7531.922.003.6425.64 704.6331.922.133.6525.75
Q309698.4731.921.883.4925.37 704.1031.822.173.5825.78
Q409721.2832.122.503.6626.16 704.1631.722.263.5425.79
Q110689.3231.022.213.3625.58 701.4631.722.093.3825.45
Q210696.9031.622.033.3025.33 698.3831.622.073.3125.41
Q310700.2332.221.783.1424.91 697.0531.722.023.2225.24
Q410704.1131.822.143.2725.41 693.5131.522.033.1625.19
Q111684.8730.922.183.1325.31 689.9231.421.923.1525.07
Q211687.4931.421.903.1425.04 690.0931.421.963.1525.10
Q311686.5931.821.573.0824.65 688.2431.521.893.1625.08
Q411696.8431.622.063.2925.35 688.4331.621.793.1724.98
Q112698.7131.422.253.2525.50 692.1931.621.953.2725.20
Q212691.6231.521.963.2825.24 693.1031.521.993.3025.28
Q312692.1331.721.823.3125.12 695.8531.522.073.4025.44
Q412691.8431.621.903.5925.49 692.3031.521.953.4725.43
Q113693.2131.222.243.4625.70 691.0131.621.913.4125.30
Q213695.6531.622.023.3225.34 693.7531.621.973.3925.36
Q313682.7931.721.533.2324.77 695.0531.622.013.3125.37
Q413694.0331.721.893.7325.62 696.4331.622.083.6225.67
Q114699.6731.322.373.4125.78 691.3331.721.763.4225.24
Q214694.0831.821.813.3825.19 695.2331.821.853.3925.21
Q314676.5831.921.203.2724.47 691.1831.721.833.3525.17
Q414702.0731.822.053.5125.56 698.2131.722.003.4225.43
Q115701.1131.422.303.4625.76 699.2431.821.913.4725.36
Q215699.2232.021.863.4525.31 699.1132.021.883.4525.33
Q315692.7932.221.503.3524.84 701.3232.021.903.4325.34
Q415711.2332.521.913.4625.37 700.3732.021.883.3825.26
Q116714.2631.722.553.5126.06 703.0732.022.013.4625.44
Q216706.3332.121.973.4825.45 705.0132.121.973.5225.49
Q316702.9732.621.563.4725.04 709.2932.222.063.5625.63
Q416717.5232.422.183.5825.76 713.4032.422.073.5125.61
Q117725.1232.022.693.5326.22 719.4532.422.203.5425.75
Q217720.5232.422.273.5925.86 722.8132.422.383.5625.91
Q317717.5532.422.163.5025.65 725.9032.222.513.5926.11
Q417731.8632.422.603.7026.31 728.5032.322.603.6226.22
Q118744.7631.823.403.6527.06 740.3132.322.813.6026.45
Q218745.0932.522.943.6326.57 744.3132.422.983.6626.62
Q318742.7532.822.623.5026.12 753.1932.523.143.5926.72
Q418*761.6532.523.463.6827.14 762.2232.523.403.6027.16
*Preliminary Estimates
Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹²
NACE Principal Activity2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry20.4920.7920.6320.9321.4021.7021.960.261.20.562.6
FConstruction19.7119.2219.3819.8320.1920.4021.000.602.90.814.0
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles16.3716.3516.5817.0517.4417.2317.900.673.90.462.6
HTransportation and storage19.8419.6319.3620.0820.1521.7622.010.251.11.869.2
IAccommodation and food services12.0212.1412.0212.2712.5412.6113.010.403.20.473.7
JInformation and communication25.3125.6726.4026.4026.8927.4827.770.291.10.883.3
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate26.8226.8927.2227.4428.4929.1229.360.240.80.873.1
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities23.6623.0423.1824.2124.9824.9225.300.381.50.321.3
NAdministrative and support services 15.7815.9316.0116.2316.4916.9617.330.372.20.845.1
OPublic administration and defence24.4524.4624.4824.1924.5124.6024.980.381.50.471.9
PEducation33.7833.8033.7733.2434.6035.7835.810.030.11.213.5
QHuman health and social work21.3621.2821.1021.2321.5421.8322.100.271.20.562.6
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities16.3016.6216.1215.8816.3016.5216.850.332.00.553.4
All Sectors 20.8020.7920.7621.0121.4021.6422.130.492.30.733.4
Public/Private Sector³           
Private sector18.8718.9418.9319.3219.6119.7820.300.522.60.693.5
Public sector²27.1027.1327.0927.0827.7528.3128.410.100.40.662.4
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees17.5017.5117.3717.8218.2318.2918.890.603.30.663.6
50-250 employees18.7918.9319.0419.1019.4019.6520.200.552.80.804.1
Greater than 250 employees23.8323.6823.7123.9124.2524.5224.900.381.50.652.7
¹ Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings plus the average hourly irregular earnings in Table 5b equal average hourly earnings as set out in Table 2.
² Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8d.
³ For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹²
NACE Principal Activity2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  
B-EIndustry1.361.511.381.421.461.011.390.38-0.07
FConstruction0.610.730.920.580.480.520.920.400.44
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles1.050.991.071.341.230.661.480.820.25
HTransportation and storage1.621.331.131.481.301.011.620.610.32
IAccommodation and food services0.240.270.380.320.360.260.320.06-0.04
JInformation and communication2.192.742.992.733.614.454.560.110.95
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate2.124.171.761.561.540.901.780.880.24
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities1.091.471.501.522.111.551.810.26-0.30
NAdministrative and support services 0.820.691.000.970.920.941.240.300.32
OPublic administration and defence1.011.041.151.011.041.121.09-0.030.05
PEducation0.550.560.490.520.520.330.460.13-0.06
QHuman health and social work0.950.900.920.990.980.961.040.080.06
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.940.860.900.940.800.500.740.24-0.06
All Sectors 1.101.261.151.171.200.981.330.350.13
Public/Private Sector³         
Private sector1.081.301.151.181.220.941.360.420.14
Public sector²1.141.141.151.141.141.121.220.100.08
Size of Enterprise         
Less than 50 employees0.840.760.790.810.780.541.130.590.35
50-250 employees1.051.041.151.071.140.741.160.420.02
Greater than 250 employees1.291.681.381.451.501.351.510.160.01
¹ Average hourly irregular earnings plus the average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings in Table 5a equal average hourly earnings as set out in Table 2.
² Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8d.
³ For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 6a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter
NACE Principal Activity2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry5.025.154.935.215.054.614.940.337.2-0.11-2.2
FConstruction2.552.732.552.572.522.532.760.239.10.249.5
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles2.732.762.862.953.392.793.100.3111.1-0.29-8.6
HTransportation and storage4.343.693.643.473.723.743.980.246.40.267.0
IAccommodation and food services1.141.331.341.311.391.381.450.075.10.064.3
JInformation and communication10.806.546.927.337.597.997.00-0.99-12.4-0.59-7.8
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate8.667.667.117.378.147.938.660.739.20.526.4
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities4.413.864.054.444.464.104.310.215.1-0.15-3.4
NAdministrative and support services 2.272.352.422.372.642.492.850.3614.50.218.0
OPublic administration and defence2.052.092.132.152.252.362.380.020.80.135.8
PEducation3.473.543.593.633.713.843.84--0.133.5
QHuman health and social work2.272.412.422.462.542.562.650.093.50.114.3
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities2.542.542.402.282.722.262.480.229.7-0.24-8.8
All Sectors 3.733.513.463.583.703.503.680.185.1-0.02-0.5
Public/Private Sector¹           
Private sector3.933.653.593.713.833.563.790.236.5-0.04-1.0
Public sector3.093.033.043.133.253.303.330.030.90.082.5
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees2.512.422.412.532.762.452.640.197.8-0.12-4.3
50-250 employees3.563.523.273.473.343.283.450.175.20.113.3
Greater than 250 employees4.634.244.254.344.454.254.430.184.2-0.02-0.4
¹ For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 6b Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  
B-EIndustry0.190.200.230.300.310.200.400.200.09
FConstruction0.090.070.060.110.090.060.110.050.02
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.320.360.300.310.390.260.460.200.07
HTransportation and storage0.110.110.100.080.090.110.11-0.02
IAccommodation and food services0.010.020.020.020.020.020.030.010.01
JInformation and communication1.091.041.791.931.982.291.38-0.91-0.60
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate0.290.340.290.300.330.871.070.200.74
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities0.220.180.420.450.310.220.230.01-0.08
NAdministrative and support services 0.120.170.170.150.190.150.320.170.13
OPublic administration and defence0.010.010.010.010.000.000.00--
PEducation0.010.010.010.010.000.000.00--
QHuman health and social work0.010.010.010.010.010.010.01--
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.170.240.260.160.500.080.230.15-0.27
All Sectors 0.180.190.230.250.270.250.300.050.03
Public/Private Sector²         
Private sector0.230.250.290.320.340.320.380.060.04
Public sector0.010.010.010.010.010.010.01--
Size of Enterprise         
Less than 50 employees0.180.160.150.150.150.140.150.01-
50-250 employees0.180.190.160.190.190.240.21-0.030.02
Greater than 250 employees0.190.220.310.340.370.340.430.090.06
¹ Average hourly beneifts in kind (BIK) are a sub-component of average hourly other labour costs as set out in Table 6a. BIK is considered an income rather than an other labour cost by
Eurostat and in Structure of Earnings Statistics
² For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 6c Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry26.8627.4426.9427.5627.9127.3128.290.983.60.381.4
FConstruction22.8722.6922.8422.9923.1923.4524.681.235.21.496.4
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles20.1520.1120.5121.3422.0620.6722.471.808.70.411.9
HTransportation and storage25.8024.6624.1325.0325.1726.5127.621.114.22.459.7
IAccommodation and food services13.4013.7413.7313.9114.2914.2514.790.543.80.503.5
JInformation and communication38.2934.9536.3136.4738.0939.9339.33-0.60-1.51.243.3
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate37.6038.7136.0936.3738.1737.9539.811.864.91.644.3
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities29.1528.3728.7330.1731.5530.5731.420.852.8-0.13-0.4
NAdministrative and support services 18.8718.9719.4319.5820.0520.3921.421.035.11.376.8
OPublic administration and defence27.5127.5927.7627.3527.8028.0728.450.381.40.652.3
PEducation37.8037.9037.8537.3938.8339.9440.110.170.41.283.3
QHuman health and social work24.5824.5924.4324.6825.0725.3525.780.431.70.712.8
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities19.7820.0219.4219.1019.8319.2820.080.804.10.251.3
All Sectors 25.6225.5625.3725.7626.3126.1227.141.023.90.833.2
Public/Private Sector²           
Private sector23.8823.8923.6724.2124.6624.2825.451.174.80.793.2
Public sector31.3331.2931.2831.3532.1432.7332.960.230.70.822.6
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees20.8520.6920.5721.1621.7721.2722.671.406.60.904.1
50-250 employees23.4023.4823.4723.6523.8823.6624.811.154.90.933.9
Greater than 250 employees29.7529.6029.3429.7030.2130.1230.840.722.40.632.1
¹ Average hourly total labour costs equal the average hourly earnings in Table 2 plus the average hourly other labour costs as set out in Table 6a.
² For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity201120122013201420152016201720182018
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
B-EIndustry195,600192,300199,400203,500212,000220,400226,900231,200226,400
FConstruction63,10057,80058,40069,30077,60090,20095,700109,600106,500
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles269,900273,900277,300289,300295,200304,100308,800302,800312,700
HTransportation and storage60,80060,10062,10063,80067,00071,80071,00078,00080,900
IAccommodation and food services120,600124,200141,900147,400154,000158,000178,000186,100177,700
JInformation and communication54,30058,10058,50062,30063,60068,40071,10076,40071,900
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate89,70089,10085,90091,20088,50094,20090,60087,40091,700
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities65,30071,50081,90084,50089,10096,50092,10094,80094,400
NAdministrative and support services 76,60072,90074,40080,20083,40081,60088,800102,800107,300
OPublic administration and defence110,800104,000105,200105,800111,300112,500122,900125,900130,700
PEducation126,500127,600131,800140,000138,800144,900153,000158,600165,000
QHuman health and social work218,600219,300226,000225,100232,800237,400240,500240,600248,300
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities48,10046,10046,00046,60048,70054,50055,80059,30054,800
All Sectors 1,499,8001,496,9001,548,5001,609,0001,662,1001,734,6001,795,3001,853,5001,868,100
Public/Private Sector²         
Private sector1,108,2001,115,1001,172,0001,235,1001,282,4001,348,2001,399,3001,453,7001,465,600
Public sector391,600381,800376,500374,000379,700386,300396,000399,800402,600
1 It should be noted that the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of estimates of employment.
² For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimate
Table 7b Job vacancies by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter
NACE Principal Activity201120122013201420152016201720182018
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
B-EIndustry9001,0001,0001,1001,2001,1001,1001,7001,600
FConstruction400200200200200500400500300
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles9009001,5001,6001,4002,4002,0001,9001,200
HTransportation and storage100200200600200400400700300
IAccommodation and food services3005004005007001,2001,0001,7001,200
JInformation and communication1,0001,3001,1001,1001,6001,2001,2001,4001,200
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,4001,8001,8001,7001,6001,8002,2002,2002,100
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities6007007008001,5001,7002,4002,8002,600
NAdministrative and support services 2007006006001,3009007001,4001,100
OPublic administration and defence4004007008001,4001,0001,3001,6002,100
PEducation4005005004006008001,6001,300900
QHuman health and social work7001,1001,8001,3002,4003,1002,9001,5001,400
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities100300200300400400400500300
All Sectors 7,4009,60010,60011,10014,30016,40017,70019,20016,300
Public/Private Sector¹         
Private sector6,4008,2008,6009,20010,80012,70013,30015,90012,900
Public sector1,0001,5002,0001,9003,6003,7004,4003,3003,400
¹ For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 7c Job vacancy rate by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter
NACE Principal Activitity201120122013201420152016201720182018
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%%%%%%%%
B-EIndustry0.50.50.50.60.50.50.50.70.7
FConstruction0.70.30.30.30.30.60.40.40.3
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.30.30.50.60.50.80.60.60.4
HTransportation and storage0.20.30.30.90.20.50.50.90.4
IAccommodation and food services0.20.40.30.40.50.70.50.90.7
JInformation and communication1.82.21.81.82.41.71.71.81.7
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1.52.02.11.81.81.92.42.42.2
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities0.91.00.80.91.71.82.52.82.7
NAdministrative and support services 0.30.90.80.71.51.10.71.41.0
OPublic administration and defence0.40.40.70.71.20.81.01.31.6
PEducation0.30.40.30.30.40.51.00.80.5
QHuman health and social work0.30.50.80.61.01.31.20.60.6
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.20.70.40.60.80.70.80.90.5
All Sectors 0.50.60.70.70.90.91.01.00.9
Public/Private Sector¹         
Private Sector0.60.70.70.70.80.90.91.10.9
Public Sector0.30.40.50.50.91.01.10.80.8
¹ For additional Public/Private data see statbank table EHQ08.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 %%
Civil service924.16927.65926.80907.82926.60912.13944.8832.753.618.282.0
Defence895.83832.44807.19808.95843.24859.94857.96-1.98-0.214.721.7
Garda Siochana1,131.971,142.021,229.131,218.561,288.811,325.131,232.53-92.60-7.0-56.28-4.4
Education920.81913.74932.24927.13962.88995.93997.231.300.134.353.6
Regional bodies830.64832.04834.89830.84824.53828.18844.4216.242.019.892.4
Health851.99869.82893.84868.42896.26906.31919.6413.331.523.382.6
Semi-state989.46974.28984.311,018.801,027.671,039.171,042.963.790.415.291.5
Total public sector907.23909.11925.78918.10944.64960.14966.406.260.721.762.3
Total public sector excluding semi- state bodies894.97898.62916.51902.45931.82947.75954.506.750.722.682.4
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies1,018.10960.68952.07972.33988.88980.321,008.1027.782.819.221.9
Commercial Semi-state bodies981.36979.49996.651,035.521,042.851,062.271,057.08-5.19-0.514.231.4
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8b Average hourly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 %%
Civil service25.4725.5525.5024.9425.3024.9925.630.642.60.331.3
Defence24.9023.3222.6822.7923.6324.1324.300.170.70.672.8
Garda Siochana28.2328.2629.3128.1529.3130.0729.24-0.83-2.8-0.07-0.2
Education38.0837.8438.1237.6339.2640.5840.46-0.12-0.31.203.1
Regional bodies23.2923.4723.5023.5023.1223.2923.980.693.00.863.7
Health25.4125.3025.2225.2225.7826.0426.340.301.20.562.2
Semi-state27.0926.9127.0927.7127.9428.2728.560.291.00.622.2
Total public sector 28.2528.2628.2428.2228.8929.4429.630.190.60.742.6
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies28.4528.5128.4528.3229.0629.6529.830.180.60.772.6
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.0528.2728.7027.8128.1828.2028.660.461.60.481.7
Commercial Semi-state bodies26.5626.4426.5527.6827.8528.3028.520.220.80.672.4
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8c Average weekly paid hours by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 hourshourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
Civil service36.336.336.436.436.636.536.90.41.10.30.8
Defence36.035.735.635.535.735.635.3-0.3-0.8-0.4-1.1
Garda Siochana40.140.441.943.344.044.142.2-1.9-4.3-1.8-4.1
Education24.224.124.524.624.524.524.60.10.40.10.4
Regional bodies35.735.535.535.435.735.635.2-0.4-1.1-0.5-1.4
Health33.534.435.434.434.834.834.90.10.30.10.3
Semi-state36.536.236.336.836.836.836.5-0.3-0.8-0.3-0.8
Total public sector 32.132.232.832.532.732.632.6-4.2-12.9-4.2-12.8
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies31.531.532.231.932.132.032.0---0.1-0.3
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies35.034.033.235.035.134.835.20.41.10.10.3
Commercial Semi-state bodies36.937.137.537.437.437.537.1-0.4-1.1-0.3-0.8
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8d Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter¹
Public sector sub-sector2013201420152016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 %%
Civil service25.0024.9724.9324.4324.7624.4925.070.582.40.311.3
Defence23.8921.8921.9321.8622.9623.3823.580.200.90.622.7
Garda Siochana24.9024.9325.0524.7825.7025.8525.44-0.41-1.6-0.26-1.0
Education37.5337.2737.5937.0938.6940.2039.95-0.25-0.61.263.3
Regional bodies22.4122.6522.7422.7522.3222.5823.070.492.20.753.4
Health24.0323.9523.8723.8624.3624.6324.830.200.80.471.9
Semi-state25.5125.4725.6926.1126.5426.8326.870.040.10.331.2
Total public sector 27.1027.1327.0927.0827.7528.3128.410.100.40.662.4
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies27.3827.4427.3427.2627.9728.5828.690.110.40.722.6
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies28.7027.9228.0927.3727.7727.8528.180.331.20.411.5
Commercial Semi-state bodies24.6624.6024.8825.6926.0926.4626.36-0.10-0.40.271.0
¹ To calculate average hourly irregular earnings subtract values in Table 8d from Table 8b.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter¹
Public sector sub-sector2013201420152016201720182018Annual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
         %
Civil service38,90038,20038,10039,90041,00041,70042,10011002.7
Defence9,7009,8009,5009,5009,4009,3009,300-100-1.1
Garda Siochana13,00012,80012,80013,20013,80014,20014,4006004.3
Education111,000110,800111,700112,000113,900112,100113,800-100-0.1
Regional bodies33,00032,20032,90033,10033,40034,30034,3009002.7
Health122,000118,600122,200125,600129,900133,300133,30034002.6
Semi-state48,90051,70052,40053,10054,50054,90055,4009001.7
Total public sector376,500374,000379,700386,300396,000399,800402,60066001.7
Total public sector excluding semi- state bodies327,700322,300327,300333,300341,500344,900347,10056001.6
Semi-state by sub-sector         
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies9,60012,40012,00012,50013,10013,90013,8007005.3
Commercial Semi-state bodies39,20039,30040,40040,60041,50041,10041,6001000.2
¹ Source: Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey. Public Sector employment includes all those who received a payment which would include both full-time and part-time employees as well as contract workers. Total public sector numbers are also published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on a quarterly basis. Those differ in coverage from the estimates in the above table as Department of Public Expenditure and Reform estimates are based on full-time equivalents which will change over time based on both changes in working hours and number of persons employed.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table A1 Estimates of average weekly earnings by broad occupational categories1
Occupation by NACE groups2016201720182018Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q3Q3Q2Q3
              % %
Managers, professionals and associated professionals
B-E1,494.941,497.521,545.871,524.97-1.41.8
B-N, R-S1,298.461,317.261,354.011,361.330.53.3
O-Q1,155.751,188.921,205.981,218.181.02.5
Total (B-S)1,213.261,238.361,263.891,274.370.82.9
Clerical, sales and service employees
B-E770.36780.03792.88796.160.42.1
B-N, R-S473.03482.85496.83505.211.74.6
O-Q547.08561.61573.66574.590.22.3
Total (B-S)482.22494.12507.90513.611.13.9
Production, transport, craft and other manual workers
B-E713.65718.52751.78744.04-1.03.6
B-N, R-S526.81542.93559.31577.813.36.4
O-Q448.58477.92479.20476.37-0.6-0.3
Total (B-S)502.89521.08534.84549.792.85.5
1 These estimates have been generated using a sub sample of EHECS respondents therefore caution is advised when interpreting these results. See background notes.
Table A2 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter1
NACE Principal ActivityEmployer Response Rate % Respondent Enterprises Final Q3 2018 Respondent Enterprises Preliminary Q4 2018 Employee Response Rate %
Final Q3 2017Preliminary Q3 2018 Final Q3 2018Preliminary Q4 2018Final Q3 2017Preliminary Q3 2018 Final Q3 2018Preliminary Q4 2018
B-EIndustry63.953.9 63.153.5 733 629 84.169.5 83.570.2
FConstruction43.931.2 43.133.3 163 128 61.848.3 65.048.9
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles65.851.7 62.552.3 886 737 82.564.0 81.370.3
HTransportation and storage56.339.5 46.543.4 140 132 89.568.0 84.170.3
IAccommodation and food services54.945.6 56.245.1 530 424 73.264.3 74.659.1
JInformation and communication69.860.7 69.554.6 285 224 88.874.5 87.268.6
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate67.460.2 67.856.6 250 211 92.984.8 91.282.3
MProfessional, scientific and technical activites61.050.1 61.247.0 304 236 80.263.7 80.260.5
NAdministrative and support service activities60.645.4 56.948.9 296 259 85.161.0 81.265.5
OPublic administration and defence94.791.5 95.887.4 136 125 99.796.5 99.194.1
PEducation75.463.3 74.065.4 174 157 93.983.5 96.088.2
QHuman health and social work75.562.3 74.360.9 570 464 94.482.6 93.584.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities62.354.3 60.150.4 249 213 81.875.0 79.767.8
Total 64.052.5 62.451.9 4,716 3,939 87.774.2 86.774.9
1 This table presents the response rates achieved by sector. Greater caution should be taken in the interpretation of estimates for sectors with lower response rates as these sectors could be subject to greater revisions if response levels are increased for final estimates.
Table A3 Preliminary data versus final data1
NACE Principal ActivityPreliminary Q3 2018 Final Q3 2018 Percentage Change
Average weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hoursAverage weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hoursAverage weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hours
B-EIndustry872.1322.6338.5 875.5422.7038.6 0.40.30.3
FConstruction777.6020.6637.6796.0720.9238.02.41.31.1
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles567.8418.0831.4566.5317.8831.7-0.2-1.11.0
HTransportation and storage819.7522.5436.4818.4522.7735.9-0.21.0-1.4
IAccommodation and food services363.8312.8928.2368.1812.8728.61.2-0.21.4
JInformation and communication1,139.2631.0936.61,175.9231.9336.83.22.70.5
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,057.0530.0535.21,056.7030.0235.2-0.0-0.1-
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities906.9826.6234.1901.3726.4734.1-0.6-0.6-
NAdministrative and support service570.2418.2131.3575.0217.9032.10.8-1.72.6
OPublic administration and defence947.8225.7436.8945.4725.7136.8-0.2-0.1-
PEducation860.2935.9024.0857.7636.1023.8-0.30.6-0.8
QHuman health and social work719.2822.7831.6715.2622.7931.4-0.60.0-0.6
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities494.9817.1228.9493.4317.0229.0-0.3-0.60.3
Total 740.3222.6232.7742.7522.6232.80.3-0.3
Public/Private Sector          
Private sector679.1820.7332.8681.7020.7232.90.4-0.00.3
Public sector958.9829.3632.7960.1429.4432.60.10.3-0.3
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees586.3918.8831.1586.6118.8231.20.0-0.30.3
50-250 employees681.9720.3933.4684.2620.3833.60.3-0.00.6
Greater than 250 employees870.7225.8833.6871.7325.8633.70.1-0.10.3
1 See background notes.

Background Notes

Introduction

The Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS) replaced the four-yearly Labour Costs Survey, and also replaced all other CSO short-term earnings inquiries. The EHECS results are comparable across sectors and include more detail on components of earnings and labour costs than was previously available.

Legislation  

The survey information is collected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the S.I. No 115 of 2018 Statistics (Labour Costs Survey) Order 2018. The information collected is treated as strictly confidential in accordance with the Statistics Act 1993. The survey results meet the requirements for Labour Costs statistics set out in Council Regulation (EC) 530/1999.

Business Register 

The CSO’s Business Register provides the register of relevant enterprises for the survey. An enterprise is defined as the smallest legally independent unit.

Business Classification

The business classification used for the EHECS is based on the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev.2). The NACE code of each enterprise included in the survey was determined from the predominant activity of the enterprise, based on information provided in this or other CSO inquiries.

Nace Classification

NACE Rev.2 is the latest classification system for economic activities, updated from NACE Rev 1.1. A major revision of NACE was conducted between 2000 and 2007, in order to ensure that the NACE classification system remained relevant for the economy. The main changes that affected the release were the reclassification of some industrial enterprises from industry to services (principally in the software and publishing sectors) and the inclusion of air conditioning supply, sewerage, water management and remediation activities in industry. See web link to NACE coder.

http://www.cso.ie/px/u/NACECoder/NACE Items/search nace.asp

Coverage

The survey results relate to enterprises in the Nace Rev 2 Sections B–E (Industry), F (Construction), G (Wholesale & retail trade: repair of motor vehicles & motorcycles), H (Transportation & storage), I (Accommodation & food services activities), J (Information & communication), K-L (Financial, insurance & real estate activities), M (Professional, scientific & technical activities), N (Administrative & support services activities), O (Public administration & defence), P (Education), Q (Human health & social work activities) and R-S (Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities) with 3 or more employees. The data was collected at the enterprise level.

NACE Rev.2 Sections A (Agriculture, forestry and fishing), T (Activities of households as employers) and U (Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies) are not covered in the survey as most employment in these sectors is not enterprise based.

All enterprises with 50 or more employees and a sample of those with 3 to 49 employees are surveyed each quarter. The sample is based on the proportion of companies in each NACE 2 digit economic sectors in the 3 to 49 size classes (3 to 9, 10 to 19 and 20 to 49).

Earnings in the public sector are calculated before the deduction of the pension levy that was introduced in March 2009.

Quarters 1 and 2 of 2011 and 2016 include temporary Census field staff in all outputs. Due to the large numbers involved a table is published which illustrates the effects of the field staff on earnings, hours and employment.

Data Collection

The survey is conducted by post and questionnaires are issued in the last week of the relevant quarter. Some returns are received electronically. All returns are scrutinised for accuracy. Where appropriate, firms are queried by telephone, email or post regarding incompleteness, apparent inconsistencies, etc. Information about the survey is on the CSO website and all questionnaires and instructions are available electronically there.

Differences with discontinued sources

The EHECS is not directly comparable with other discontinued short-term earnings surveys such as the Quarterly Industrial Inquiry (QII), the Quarterly Services Inquiry (QSI) and the Quarterly Earnings and Hours worked in Construction (QEC).  The main differences are:

The EHECS collects data on the entire reference quarter while the QII, QSI and QEC only collected data for a reference week in the quarter.

  • Data on earnings and labour costs per hour is generally presented on the basis of hours paid and worked in the EHECS.  Data on earnings per hour was presented on the basis of hours paid (including paid leave) in the QII.
  • The EHECS uses a standardised form for all NACE sectors with a standard occupational classification for all enterprises while the QII, QSI and QEC surveys had their own occupational classifications. However the EHECS category “Production, Craft and other Manual workers” corresponds broadly to the “Industrial” category in the QII; the EHECS category “Clerical, Sales and Service Workers” also corresponds broadly to the QII category “Clerical and other office staff”; the QII category “Managerial and technical staff” is largely equivalent to the EHECS category “Managers, Professional and Associated Professionals”.
  • The EHECS collects data for enterprises while the QII collected data for local units.
  • Data on hours is collected for all categories of employees in the EHECS, while such data was limited to the industrial workers in the QII, non-managerial employees in the QEC and not collected at all in the QSI.
  • The earnings data collected for the EHECS includes irregular earnings, irregular bonuses, etc while these items were excluded from the QII, QSI and QEC which only collected data on regular earnings (including regular bonuses) and overtime.
  • Non-labour costs such as employers PRSI, other social costs, benefit in kind etc., are collected for the EHECS but were not collected for the QII, QSI and QEC surveys.
  • Data on employees in the QII, QSI and QEC was collected with regard to the reference week. In the EHECS employment data is collected with regard to the first and last day of the quarter.

Definitions

Registered Employment:

Registered employment refers to the employment of respondent enterprises at the end of the reference quarter. For non-respondent enterprises and enterprises not in the sample, registered employment refers to the employment from the Business Register. The Business Register base enterprise employment on data from the latest revenue P35 files. The Business Register has a lag of between 12 and 18 months between the current quarter and the latest revenue P35 file. For this reason the Business Register is not a suitable measure of short term trends in employment. Thus, sectoral registered employment is adjusted to reflect the trends of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) sectoral employment. The LFS is designed to measure short term changes in employment. 

Average Employment

For respondent enterprises average employment refers to the average of the quarters opening employment and closing employment. This variable is used as the denominator in calculating average earnings per person and average paid hours per person.

All Employees

All persons who have a direct employment contract with an enterprise as employees, who receive wages or salaries. Persons not working for salary e.g. family members, directors, partners, outside pieceworker’s, etc. are not considered employees but other persons engaged. These workers are included separately but not used in the calculation of derived variables. All employment figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Full-time Employees

Employees whose regular working hours are the same as the collectively agreed or customary hours worked in the enterprise, irrespective of the duration of the employment contract. Full-time employment often comes with benefits that are not typically offered to part-time, temporary, or flexible workers, such as annual leave, sick leave, and health insurance.

Part-time Employees

Employees whose regular working hours are less than the collectively agreed or customary hours worked in the enterprise. The definition of part-time varies from enterprise to enterprise but in general part-time employees work 80% or less of the regular hours of the enterprise. 

Apprentices/Trainees

All persons, both full-time or part-time, whose wages or salaries are governed by the fact that they work either under an apprenticeship contract or as part of a training program. 

Category of employees by occupation

For some enterprises information was collected separately for three occupational groups. The three groups are:

1. Managers, Administrators, Professionals and Associate Professionals.

2. Clerical, Sales and Service workers.

3. Production, Transport workers, Craft & Tradespersons and other Manual workers.

Wages and Salaries

All wages and salaries payments are gross (i.e. before deduction of income tax and employees’ PRSI contributions and levies such as the public sector pension levy).  In the analysis, the total wages and salaries are divided into: 

- Regular earnings: payments made regularly at each pay period during the year, excluding all irregular and overtime earnings.

- Overtime earnings: payment for hours worked in excess of normal hours.

- Total earnings excluding irregular earnings: regular earnings + overtime earnings.

- Irregular earnings: bonuses which are not paid regularly at each pay period. For example: end of quarter or year productivity bonus.

- Apprentices/Trainees earnings: total of apprentices & trainees' regular wages and salaries, overtime and irregular bonuses and allowances.

- Total earnings: total of regular earnings, overtime earnings and irregular earnings.

Other Labour Costs

Other labour costs are costs to the employer, in addition to wages and salaries, of employing labour. They include the below categories:

- Statutory social contributions: statutory employers’ PRSI including the social security contributions for apprentices/trainees.

- Non-statutory social contributions: payments made by enterprises on behalf of their employees which include pension fund contributions, life assurance premiums, income continuance insurance as well as other employee related payments.

- Other expenses: other employee related payments e.g. study grants, etc.

- Benefits in kind (BIK); net cost of all goods and services made available to employees by the employer. For example, payments for private use of company cars, stock options & share purchase schemes, voluntary sickness insurance, staff housing and other free or subsidised benefits (e.g. canteen facilities, childcare provision, health costs). BIK is included as earnings by Eurostat for the Labour Costs Survey and the Labour Costs Index.

- Redundancy payments.

- Subsidies and refunds: amounts received by enterprises intended to refund part or all of the cost of wages and salaries and training costs. These may include training subsidies from SOLAS or Job Bridge as well as refunds from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) for sick and maternity leave. These are deducted from the firms’ labour costs in the analysis.

Paid Hours

- Regular paid hours: These are normal working hours of employees, usually specified in the contract of employment and should include paid leave e.g. paid sick leave and annual leave.

- Overtime paid hours: Hours worked in excess of contracted hours.  

- Total paid hours: Sum of regular paid hours and overtime paid hours.

Job Vacancies

Respondents are asked to provide the number of job vacancies in their firm as at the last working day of the quarter. A job vacancy is defined as a newly created post, an unoccupied post or post about to become vacant in the near future, where the employer is actively looking for (i.e. advertising, contacting employment agencies, etc.) and willing to recruit a suitable candidate immediately or very soon. The posts must be open to external candidates, although it may be filled by an internal candidate. Due to one off recruitments by individual firms and a low number of firms reporting vacancies, the job vacancies series can be volatile and should be interpreted with caution.  Job vacancy information is collected by the Central Statistics Office under EU regulation (EC) No. 453/2008. For more information on job vacancies please see the link below.

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/labour-market/job-vacancies

Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate (JVR) measures the proportion of total posts that are vacant, according to the definition of job vacancy above, expressed as a percentage as follows

Job Vacancy Rate = ( Number of job vacancies / Number of occupied jobs + Number of job vacancies ) * 100

National Minimum Wage (NMW)

The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 became law on the 1st April 2000. Enterprises are asked to indicate the number of employees in receipt of the NMW at the end of each quarter. A detailed guide to the Act is available from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at www.djei.ie. Employees earning less than the minimum wage due to age or training status are also included. These rates do not apply to close relatives of the employer or apprentices other than apprentice hairdressers.

Derived Variables

Employment

The sum of full-time employees and part-time employees on the last day of the quarter plus the average number of apprentices engaged during the quarter.

Average Weekly Earnings 

Total earnings for the quarter divided by the average number of persons employed during the quarter divided by 13  (number of weeks in a quarter).

Average Hourly Earnings

The sum of regular earnings, irregular earnings, and overtime earnings for the quarter divided by total paid hours for the quarter.

Average Hourly Irregular Earnings

Total irregular earnings in the quarter divided by total paid hours for the quarter.

Average Weekly Paid Hours

Total paid hours for the quarter divided by the average number of persons employed during the quarter divided by 13 (number of weeks in a quarter).  Unpaid hours worked (including unpaid overtime) and unpaid leave are excluded.

Average Hourly Other Labour Costs

The sum of other labour costs divided by total paid hours for the quarter. Other labour costs include redundancy payments, employers’ contributions to social security, other social costs, benefit in kind and other labour costs.  Subsidies and refunds received were deducted.

Average Hourly Total Labour Costs

Hourly labour costs are total labour costs divided by the total number of hours paid during the quarter.

Annual Data

Annualised results are available as a separate release, details of which are available on the CSO website.  

https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/elca/earningsandlabourcostsannualdata2017/

Methodology for production of quarterly results

Production of EHECS Data

All enterprises with 50 or more employees are surveyed quarterly as well as a sample of enterprises which have between 3 and 49 employees inclusive. For enterprises with 3 to 49 employees inclusive, a weighting factor (the reciprocal of the sampling fraction) is used to weight the estimates to the total population for both employees and enterprises. The CSO's Business Register forms the basis of the sampling frame used for weighting the sample data to the population. Decay factors are calculated for each size class and sector to adjust the non-sampled element of the register for the respondent non-relevant enterprises.

Imputation is carried out for non-respondents in the greater than 50 employees’ categories. Where an enterprise responded in the previous quarter ratio-imputation is used to estimate figures for the current quarter. For enterprises that did not respond in the previous four quarters a stratum average imputation method is used to estimate the missing variables. These estimates are based on respondent enterprises of a similar size and activity.

After imputation, all enterprises with 50 or more employees are accounted for and included in the final dataset. All enterprises employing between 3 and 49 employees are allocated grossing factors to represent the entire population for their relevant industry sector and size class in the quarter. All enterprises' data are contained in the final quarterly dataset which is tabulated to produce the aggregates which are published in the Earnings and Labour Costs quarterly release.

Interpretation of Results

The series presented in this release and all estimates deriving from the EHECS survey are primarily of use as an indicator of trends in average earnings across different classifications. However, in interpreting the trends and in undertaking direct comparison of the average level of earnings across sectors, some caution in interpretation is warranted. For example, the results presented here are based on raw earnings levels. To get a true picture of differences in earnings levels of different employees, comparisons should take account of differences in the characteristics of employees, such as length of service, educational attainment level, nature of work, etc., none of which are available via EHECS. The additional information available from the National Employment Survey (NES) allows for a more detailed analysis of differences in earnings levels and should be referred to by users seeking more detailed information on earnings determinants than is available from EHECS.

It should be noted that all earnings are gross amounts before deductions for PRSI, tax and other levies. This is particularly relevant to the public sector since March 2009 when the pension levy was introduced.

Changes in the composition of employees in a given sector or group has an effect on the average levels of earnings and paid hours over time.  For example, if the proportion of part-time employees increases within a sector then it would be expected that the average weekly earnings and paid hours would fall in that sector even if the hourly pay rates were unchanged. Similarly if the contracted weekly paid hours for a sector increased, this would have no effect on average weekly earnings but would reduce the average hourly earnings of the sector.

Estimated averages do not reflect differences in characteristics of the job or the employees, and since EHECS collects aggregate data from each enterprise it is not possible to correct for such differences using EHECS data.

Seasonal Adjustment

To correct for typical seasonal patterns, the series presented in Table 4 have been seasonally adjusted. Since Quarter 1 2015 seasonal adjustment of earnings and labour costs data is completed by applying the X-13-ARIMA model, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Seasonal adjustment is conducted using the direct approach, where each individual series (average weekly earnings, average weekly paid hours, average hourly earnings, average hourly irregular earnings, average hourly other labour costs and average hourly total labour costs) is independently adjusted for each sector.

As a result of the direct seasonal adjustment approach employed, it should be noted that the sum of any component series may not be equal to seasonally adjusted series to which these components belong. For example, the seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings and seasonally adjusted other labour costs will not necessarily add up to the seasonally adjusted average total labour costs.

The X-13 ARIMA method has the X-11 moving averages process at its core, but builds on this by providing options for pre-treating the series using a regARIMA approach for prior adjustment and series extension. In essence this methodology will estimate seasonal factors while taking account of calendar effects (e.g timing of Easter), outliers, temporary changes and level shifts.

All earnings series are updated quarterly with the entire seasonally adjusted series from Q1 2008 as part of the concurrent approach. A comprehensive review of the seasonal adjustment specification is carried annually where revisions to the entire series are made. Revisions to the series are typically very minor in scale.

Occupational Category Estimates

From Q2 2010 a sub-sample of EHECS respondents has been used to generate earnings and hours estimates by three broad occupational categories.

Results are derived by utilising a matched sample of enterprises between consecutive quarters to generate quarterly updates to the previous quarters earnings. An estimated series is included in table A1. Given the number of enterprises involved it is only possible to produce reliable estimates when the sectors are grouped. Earnings for the broad occupational groups are therefore presented by the following amalgamations:

  • B-E                  Industry
  • B-N/R-S           All NACE sectors from Industry to Administrative and support service activities inclusive, plus Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities
  • O-Q                 All NACE sectors from Public administration and defence to Human health and social work activities, inclusive
  • B-S                  All NACE sectors

Review of Preliminary Versus Final Data

A detailed review of preliminary estimates and final data was undertaken to ascertain the extent of change between both sets of results.  The review focused on response rates, scale of revision at NACE sectoral level and significant changes in trends.  The findings of the review indicate that the preliminary figures can be accepted as a suitable indicator for quarterly trends. Analysis of the results for individual NACE sectors highlighted that the change from preliminary to final data was broadly in the range of plus or minus 5%. However, as response rates can impact on the quality of data at the sectoral level, it is advisable to be aware of this when interpreting preliminary results. In the quarterly release table A3 contains the differences between preliminary and final data for the most recent reported quarter, while table A2 highlights response rates.

Labour Cost Index (LCI)

Results of EHECS are compiled and transmitted to Eurostat for inclusion in the Labour Cost Index. The quarterly Labour Cost Index (LCI) shows the short-term development of the total hourly costs incurred by the employers of maintaining their employees. In other words, the LCI measures the costs arising from the production factor 'labour'. The LCI covers the economic activities of industry and services (including public administration). The reference year of the index is 2008. The labour cost index data is collected by EU Member States and is transmitted to Eurostat. In addition to the index numbers, Eurostat provides annual and quarterly growth rates of labour cost. Further labour cost index information and data is available through the Eurostat website:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/labour-market/labour-costs/database

Public Sector Employment

There are two CSO surveys which can potentially provide information on public sector employment. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) can provide estimates based on all respondents who are in employment being asked whether they work in the public sector or not. The EHECS, which is the source of the quarterly Earnings and Labour Costs data, provides estimates based on responses from the employer. Specifically in the case of EHECS there is a response level of close to 80% for public sector employers over time.

Based on the higher response levels and lower levels of subjectivity associated with EHECS the CSO believes it offers a more reliable source for public sector number estimates over time and the CSO publishes data from EHECS as the primary series on public sector numbers. Table 8e contains the estimates of public sector numbers broken down by the different high level areas within the public sector.

Public Sector Organisations

Public sector organisations consists of the following:

  • Civil Service
  • Defence
  • Garda Síochána
  • Education
  • Regional bodies
  • Health
  • Semi State, both commercial and non-commercial

Financial Crisis Related Bodies

Nationalised banks are in temporary public ownership resulting from the financial crisis, their employment and earnings data are excluded from Public Sector earnings and employment figures, this is in order to maintain the stability of the series. Their data is reflected in the appropriate NACE sector.

Earnings and Labour Costs Revisions implemented in Q1 2018
Earnings and Labour Costs data have been revised from Q1 2008 to Q4 2017. These revisions are reflected in both the Earnings and Labour Costs release for Q1 2018 and related StatBank tables. These revisions arise as a result of the introduction of the new Labour Force Survey, new population estimates as a result of the 2016 Census of Population and other minor updates to EHECS aggregation processes. The revisions are minor in nature, mainly affect aggregated NACE sectors B-S, B-E, D-E, K-L and R-S and do not change previously published trends in Earnings and Labour Costs data.

Earnings and Labour Costs Revisions implemented in Q2 2018

Earnings and Labour Costs data have been revised from Q3 2009 to Q1 2018. These revisions are reflected in both the Earnings and Labour Costs release for Q2 2018 and related StatBank tables. These revisions arise as a result of changes in the composition of the NUTS regions in the Labour Force Survey. The revisions are minor in nature, affecting aggregated NACE sectors B-S, B-E, D-E, K-L and R-S and do not change previously published trends in Earnings and Labour Costs data.

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