The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions applied in response to it had a significant impact on the labour market between 2020 and 2022. Earnings statistics for those years and comparisons with earlier years are impacted by changes in the composition of the labour market during this period and when compared with 2019 and earlier years. The level of earnings has also been impacted by the COVID-19 income support schemes in place since 2020.
Median weekly earnings increased by 4.1% from €644.55 in 2021 to €670.90 in 2022. The Information & Communication sector recorded the highest median weekly earnings in 2022 at €1,272.45, where median earnings were €1,384.62 for males and €1,087.78 for females. The Financial, Insurance & Real Estate sector had the next highest median weekly earnings at €942.45. The lowest median earnings were in the Accommodation & Food Services sector at €348.84 (See Table 4.3).
Mean weekly earnings across all sectors of the economy stood at €856.21 in 2022. The sector with the highest mean weekly earnings was Information & Communication at €1,591.37 in 2022 followed by the Financial, Insurance & Real Estate sector at €1,264.55. The Accommodation & Food Services sector recorded the lowest mean earnings at €392.99 (See Table 4.2).
Median weekly earnings in the public sector stood at €930.51 in 2022, up 3.3% from €900.61 in 2021. In the private sector median weekly earnings were €601.47 in 2022, an increase of 4.3% from €576.61 in 2021.
In 2022, public sector mean weekly earnings were €1,024.35 while the private sector equivalent was €810.84 (See Tables 4.1 to 4.3 and Figure 4.1).
| X-axis label | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| Industry (B-E) | 800.11 | 1024.27 |
| Construction (F) | 714.67 | 792.6 |
| Wholesale & retail (G) | 496.55 | 641.08 |
| Transportation & storage (H) | 697.35 | 807.71 |
| Accommodation & food (I) | 348.84 | 392.99 |
| Information & communication (J) | 1272.45 | 1591.37 |
| Financial & real estate (K-L) | 942.45 | 1264.55 |
| Professional & technical (M) | 807.69 | 1076.8 |
| Admin & support service (N) | 574.48 | 731.83 |
| Public admin & defence (O) | 929.08 | 1020.75 |
| Education (P) | 829.61 | 880.81 |
| Health & social (Q) | 703.01 | 805.07 |
| Arts & entertainment (R-S) | 409.62 | 524.26 |
| All sectors | 670.9 | 856.21 |
Table 4.5 below presents the annual percentage change in median weekly earnings for employments that were active in October of each year being analysed i.e., where the employee is in the same employment, in October of the reference year, for both years being analysed. For example, for 2015-2016 only employments that existed in October in both 2015 and 2016 were included for analysis. If an employment existed in October 2015 but not October 2016, or vice-versa, then it was excluded from analysis.
Median weekly earnings were highest in enterprises with 1,000 or more employees at €888.53 in 2022, an increase of 5.4% from €842.79 in 2021, with median male earnings at €975.75 and females at €830.05 in 2022 (See Table 4.7 and Figure 4.2).
Enterprises with 1,000 or more employees also recorded the highest mean weekly earnings at €1,059.83 in 2022, with males recording a mean of €1,209.01 and females a mean of €947.75. Enterprises with one-nine employees had the lowest mean earnings at €566.92, with males earning a mean of €672.75 and females €454.31 (See Table 4.6).
| X-axis label | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 9 employees | 546 | 357.81 |
| 10 to 49 employees | 624.52 | 428.17 |
| 50 to 249 employees | 721.2 | 526.23 |
| 250 to 499 employees | 815.07 | 632.27 |
| 500 to 999 employees | 879.19 | 690.7 |
| 1000+ employees | 975.75 | 830.05 |
| Total | 741.86 | 592.92 |
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