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Earnings and Labour Costs Q1 2026 (Final) Q2 2026 (Preliminary Estimates)

Average weekly earnings up 3.9% in the 12 months to Q2 2026

Online ISSN: 2009-5023

CSO statistical release, 25 August 2026, 11am

As of Q1 2026 onwards, this release uses the new NACE Rev. 2.1 classification. This updated EU-wide system of classification replaces NACE Rev. 2.0 and will better reflect emerging economic activities and provide a more accurate picture of the Irish economy. For more information please see, Information Note: Earnings and Labour Costs Q1 2026 Introduction of Nace Rev. 2.1. Estimates for NACE Rev. 2.0 will continue to be published on PxStat.

Key Findings

Average weekly earnings were €1,046.88 in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2026, up 3.9% from €1,007.58 in Q2 2025.
Average hourly earnings rose by 3.8% to €31.96 in Q2 2026, from €30.79 in Q2 2025.
Average weekly paid hours were 32.8 in Q2 2026, up 0.3% from the Q2 2025 hours of 32.7.
The job vacancy rate at the end of Q2 2026 was 1.3%, unchanged from Q2 2025, and 0.1% higher than the rate recorded at the end of Q1 2026.
Average hourly other labour costs increased by 5.7% to €5.77 in Q2 2026, from €5.46 in Q2 2025.
The highest sectoral averages for hourly total labour costs in Q2 2026 were €61.40 in Information & Communication, €53.79 in Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities, and €49.51 in Education.
The Public Administration & Defence; Compulsory Social Security sector had the highest job vacancy rate at 3.9% in Q2 2026, followed by 2.6% in the Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities sector.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (25 August 2026) published Earnings and Labour Costs results with Preliminary estimates for Quarter 2 (Q2) 2026 and Final estimates for Q1 2026.

The Earnings and Labour Costs release is published quarterly and captures key metrics from enterprises such as how much employees are paid, how many hours they work, and provides comparisons across economic sectors in Ireland.

Commenting on the release, Dr Niall O’Sullivan, Statistician in the Earnings Analysis Division, said: “Average earnings in the economy continue to increase year-on-year, and preliminary estimates for April, May, and June (Q2) 2026 show average weekly earnings were €1,046.88, up 3.9% compared with €1,007.58 in Q2 2025. Over the same period the Consumer Price Index increased by 3.6%.

Earnings and Hours

Average weekly earnings rose across 12 of the 13 economic sectors in the year to Q2 2026. The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly earnings in Q2 2026 was 7.7% in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, followed by a rise of 5.6% in the Administrative & Support Service Activities sector.

Average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 3.8% to €31.96, increasing in all 13 economic sectors, while average weekly paid hours increased by 0.3% from 32.7 in Q2 2025 to 32.8 in Q2 2026.

Labour Costs

Average hourly other labour costs increased by 5.7% across all economic sectors to €5.77 in Q2 2026 from €5.46 in Q2 2025, while average hourly total labour costs increased by 4.1% to €37.73 in the same period.

The sector with the highest average hourly total labour costs in Q2 2026 was Information & Communication at €61.40. The lowest average total labour costs were in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, which recorded a rate of €20.27.

Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate in Q2 2026, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter, was 1.3%, unchanged from Q2 2025, and up 0.1% from the rate recorded at the end of Q1 2026.”

Please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information on this and other releases.

Editor's Note

While there is no internationally agreed methodology for assessing the public/private sector wage gap, the CSO has published analysis of the differential using a matched Labour Force Survey and PAYE Modernisation (PMOD) dataset for 2019-2022. This analysis 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 2022 was estimated to range from -6.6% to +0.9% depending on the specification applied and the treatment of the additional superannuation contribution.

For the most recent analysis, see Econometric Analysis of the Public-Private Sector Pay Differential 2022. For previous analysis see Public-Private Sector Pay Differential.

Preliminary Estimates Q2 2026

Headline Table: Earnings, Hours and Labour Costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted
	Average Weekly Earnings	Average Hourly Earnings	Average Hourly Total Labour Costs	Average Weekly Paid Hours
	€	€	€	Hours
	Unadjusted
Q2 2025	1,007.58	30.79	36.26	32.70
Q2 2026	1,046.88	31.96	37.73	32.80
Annual % change	3.9	3.8	4.1	0.3
	Seasonally Adjusted
Q1 2026	1,031.03	31.83	37.59	32.60
Q2 2026	1,048.49	32.02	37.65	32.80
Quarterly % change	1.7	0.6	0.2	0.6

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q2 2026 HLT (XLS 10KB)

Visit Table EHQ53 on PxStat

Earnings and Hours

Average weekly earnings were €1,046.88 in Q2 2026, an increase of 3.9% when compared with €1,007.58 from one year earlier, according to preliminary estimates of the Earnings and Labour Costs quarterly release.

The largest annual percentage increase in Q2 2026 in average weekly earnings was 7.7% in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, rising from €470.59 to €506.78. The second largest increase was 5.6% in the Administrative & Support Service Activities sector, which rose from €794.50 to €838.79 over the year.

In the three years to Q2 2026, average weekly earnings rose by 14.8%. All sectors saw increases in average weekly earnings over this period.

Average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 3.8% to €31.96 in Q2 2026, while average weekly paid hours increased slightly from 32.7 in Q2 2025 to 32.8 in Q2 2026. Over the three years from Q2 2023 to Q2 2026, average hourly earnings rose by 13.4% from €28.19 to €31.96 while average paid hours increased from 32.4 to 32.8.

	3 Year % Change
Construction	21
Administration and support service activities	17.4
Accommodation and food service activities	17.2
Professional, scientific and technical activities	15.7
Wholesale and retail trade	15.1
All sectors	14.8
Transportation and storage	14.3
Human, health and social work activities	14.3
Education	13.9
Industry	12.4
Financial, insurance and real estate activities	12.2
Public administration and defence; compulsury social security	12.1
Information and communication	11.3
Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	9.4

	Q2 2023	Q2 2026
Industry	27.49	30.82
Construction	24.62	29.88
Wholesale and retail trade	22.26	24.63
Transportation and storage	24.36	27.76
Accommodation and food service activities	15.93	18.08
Information and communication	41.61	46.88
Financial, insurance and real estate activities	38.28	42.05
Professional, scientific and technical activities	32.43	37.31
Administrative and support service activities	22.64	27.02
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	31.24	34.75
Education	40.8	44.38
Human health and social work activities	27.41	31.15
Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	21.55	24.21
All sectors	28.19	31.96

X-axis label	Unadjusted	Seasonally Adjusted
Q219	23.69	23.69
Q319	23.54	24.2
Q419	24.24	24.3
Q120	24.76	24.02
Q220	25.38	25.36
Q320	24.39	25.13
Q420	25.57	25.63
Q121	26.85	26.03
Q221	26.08	26.07
Q321	25.32	26.11
Q421	26.29	26.36
Q122	27.47	26.6
Q222	26.76	26.75
Q322	26.23	27.05
Q422	27.9	28.01
Q123	28.55	27.63
Q223	28.19	28.19
Q323	27.84	28.62
Q423	28.44	28.62
Q124	29.96	28.98
Q224	29.75	29.75
Q324	29.23	30.01
Q424	30.18	30.42
Q125	31.86	30.81
Q225	30.79	30.83
Q325	30.36	31.13
Q425	31.12	31.39
Q126	32.93	31.83
Q226	31.96	32.02

X-axis label	Unadjusted	Seasonally Adjusted
Q219	32.6	32.6
Q319	32.7	32.5
Q419	32.4	32.4
Q120	32.3	32.3
Q220	32.2	32.2
Q320	32.6	32.4
Q420	33.1	32.7
Q121	32.1	32.8
Q221	32.6	32.7
Q321	33.1	32.5
Q421	32.9	32.7
Q122	32.3	32.8
Q222	32.6	32.7
Q322	33.1	32.7
Q422	32.4	32.6
Q123	32.4	32.5
Q223	32.4	32.5
Q323	32.6	32.6
Q423	32.6	32.5
Q124	32.5	32.5
Q224	32.4	32.4
Q324	32.7	32.5
Q424	32.5	32.6
Q125	32.3	32.6
Q225	32.7	32.7
Q325	32.8	32.6
Q425	32.5	32.6
Q126	32.3	32.6
Q226	32.8	32.8

Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	942.47	992.78	1,043.02	1,089.50	1,126.36	1,258.63	1,171.84	-86.79	-6.9	45.48	4.0
F	Construction	834.24	921.09	900.39	1,004.40	1,044.48	1,040.08	1,089.21	49.13	4.7	44.73	4.3
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	633.02	666.37	673.42	714.10	751.75	739.00	775.16	36.16	4.9	23.41	3.1
H	Transportation and Storage	794.61	872.76	890.41	920.36	985.81	931.85	1,017.32	85.47	9.2	31.51	3.2
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	377.67	408.28	432.25	446.41	470.59	468.23	506.78	38.55	8.2	36.19	7.7
J-K	Information and Communication	1,299.98	1,448.06	1,554.55	1,649.00	1,674.21	1,846.81	1,730.61	-116.20	-6.3	56.40	3.4
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	1,219.39	1,247.91	1,336.37	1,389.80	1,451.68	1,748.31	1,499.23	-249.08	-14.2	47.55	3.3
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	1,028.22	1,074.57	1,118.99	1,156.49	1,228.25	1,293.37	1,294.65	1.28	0.1	66.40	5.4
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	694.92	691.82	714.50	760.21	794.50	840.46	838.79	-1.67	-0.2	44.29	5.6
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	1,023.14	1,023.81	1,121.50	1,168.62	1,210.28	1,222.95	1,256.79	33.84	2.8	46.51	3.8
Q	Education	929.30	914.35	946.03	1,002.32	1,048.53	1,100.60	1,077.36	-23.24	-2.1	28.83	2.7
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	783.19	812.33	858.30	900.10	949.20	1,005.83	980.94	-24.89	-2.5	31.74	3.3
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	573.61	601.23	621.48	650.92	712.98	707.59	679.73	-27.86	-3.9	-33.25	-4.7
All Sectors		851.15	873.50	912.12	964.53	1,007.58	1,064.59	1,046.88	-17.71	-1.7	39.30	3.9
Public/Private Sector¹
Private Sector		791.36	820.92	853.04	903.40	941.59	997.77	978.71	-19.06	-1.9	37.12	3.9
Public Sector²		1,030.85	1,045.21	1,108.81	1,159.09	1,221.90	1,273.24	1,261.16	-12.08	-0.9	39.26	3.2
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		675.25	694.35	730.85	776.03	803.79	817.31	837.54	20.23	2.5	33.75	4.2
50-250 employees		805.67	826.40	849.99	890.90	912.78	968.52	938.14	-30.38	-3.1	25.36	2.8
Greater than 250 employees		970.63	990.85	1,042.82	1,095.34	1,152.99	1,228.47	1,196.65	-31.82	-2.6	43.66	3.8
¹ For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
² Average weekly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8a.

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q2 2026 Table 1 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	24.80	25.93	27.49	29.02	29.78	33.27	30.82	-2.45	-7.4	1.04	3.5
F	Construction	22.49	24.60	24.62	27.15	28.93	29.35	29.88	0.53	1.8	0.95	3.3
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	20.44	21.68	22.26	23.32	24.06	24.75	24.63	-0.12	-0.5	0.57	2.4
H	Transportation and Storage	22.50	23.58	24.36	24.19	26.75	26.43	27.76	1.33	5.0	1.01	3.8
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	15.63	15.08	15.93	16.96	17.51	18.13	18.08	-0.05	-0.3	0.57	3.3
J-K	Information and Communication	34.68	38.79	41.61	44.31	44.73	49.41	46.88	-2.53	-5.1	2.15	4.8
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	35.17	35.63	38.28	39.66	40.24	48.73	42.05	-6.68	-13.7	1.81	4.5
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	29.48	31.37	32.43	33.70	35.32	37.06	37.31	0.25	0.7	1.99	5.6
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	22.03	21.53	22.64	23.96	25.74	28.63	27.02	-1.61	-5.6	1.28	5.0
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	28.44	28.98	31.24	33.08	33.58	34.11	34.75	0.64	1.9	1.17	3.5
Q	Education	37.84	38.82	40.80	43.27	43.59	44.59	44.38	-0.21	-0.5	0.79	1.8
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	24.30	25.39	27.41	28.47	29.75	30.94	31.15	0.21	0.7	1.40	4.7
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	20.13	20.17	21.55	22.33	23.69	24.65	24.21	-0.44	-1.8	0.52	2.2
All Sectors		26.08	26.76	28.19	29.75	30.79	32.93	31.96	-0.97	-2.9	1.17	3.8
Public/Private Sector¹
Private Sector		24.21	25.00	26.22	27.55	28.61	30.93	29.69	-1.24	-4.0	1.08	3.8
Public Sector²		31.74	32.67	34.94	37.10	38.09	39.11	39.31	0.20	0.5	1.22	3.2
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		21.64	22.40	23.77	24.94	25.81	26.89	26.95	0.06	0.2	1.14	4.4
50-250 employees		24.45	24.77	25.70	27.04	27.72	29.92	28.46	-1.46	-4.9	0.74	2.7
Greater than 250 employees		29.08	29.74	31.56	33.23	34.41	36.86	35.66	-1.20	-3.3	1.25	3.6
¹ For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
² Average hourly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8b.

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q2 2026 Table 2 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change		Annual change
		hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	%	hours	%
B-E	Industry	38.0	38.3	37.9	37.5	37.8	37.8	38.0	0.2	0.5	0.2	0.5
F	Construction	37.1	37.4	36.6	37.0	36.1	35.4	36.5	1.1	3.1	0.4	1.1
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	31.0	30.7	30.3	30.6	31.2	29.9	31.5	1.6	5.4	0.3	1.0
H	Transportation and Storage	35.3	37.0	36.5	38.0	36.8	35.3	36.6	1.3	3.7	-0.2	-0.5
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	24.2	27.1	27.1	26.3	26.9	25.8	28.0	2.2	8.5	1.1	4.1
J-K	Information and Communication	37.5	37.3	37.4	37.2	37.4	37.4	36.9	-0.5	-1.3	-0.5	-1.3
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	34.7	35.0	34.9	35.0	36.1	35.9	35.7	-0.2	-0.6	-0.4	-1.1
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	34.9	34.3	34.5	34.3	34.8	34.9	34.7	-0.2	-0.6	-0.1	-0.3
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	31.5	32.1	31.6	31.7	30.9	29.4	31.0	1.6	5.4	0.1	0.3
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	36.0	35.3	35.9	35.3	36.0	35.9	36.2	0.3	0.8	0.2	0.6
Q	Education	24.6	23.6	23.2	23.2	24.1	24.7	24.3	-0.4	-1.6	0.2	0.8
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	32.2	32.0	31.3	31.6	31.9	32.5	31.5	-1.0	-3.1	-0.4	-1.3
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	28.5	29.8	28.8	29.1	30.1	28.7	28.1	-0.6	-2.1	-2.0	-6.6
All Sectors		32.6	32.6	32.4	32.4	32.7	32.3	32.8	0.5	1.5	0.1	0.3
Public/Private Sector¹
Private Sector		32.7	32.8	32.5	32.8	32.9	32.3	33.0	0.7	2.2	0.1	0.3
Public Sector²		32.5	32.0	31.7	31.2	32.1	32.6	32.1	-0.5	-1.5	0.0	0.0
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		31.2	31.0	30.7	31.1	31.1	30.4	31.1	0.7	2.3	0.0	0.0
50-250 employees		33.0	33.4	33.1	32.9	32.9	32.4	33.0	0.6	1.9	0.1	0.3
Greater than 250 employees		33.4	33.3	33.0	33.0	33.5	33.3	33.6	0.3	0.9	0.1	0.3
¹ For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
²Average weekly paid hours by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8c.

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q2 2026 Table 3 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 4 Earnings, hours and labour costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by other characteristics and quarter

Table 4 Earnings, hours and labour costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by other characteristics and quarter
	Unadjusted Series					Seasonally Adjusted Series
Quarter	Average weekly earnings	Average weekly paid hours	Average hourly earnings	Average hourly other labour costs	Average hourly total labour costs	Average weekly earnings	Average weekly paid hours	Average hourly earnings	Average hourly other labour costs	Average hourly total labour costs
	€	hours	€	€	€	€	hours	€	€	€
Q2 2019	771.34	32.6	23.69	3.81	27.50	768.90	32.6	23.69	3.76	27.47
Q3 2019	769.19	32.7	23.54	3.77	27.31	785.83	32.5	24.20	3.91	28.01
Q4 2019	786.40	32.4	24.24	3.96	28.20	792.98	32.4	24.30	3.90	28.18
Q1 2020	800.00	32.3	24.76	3.86	28.62	800.57	32.3	24.02	3.83	27.97
Q2 2020	817.35	32.2	25.38	2.29	27.67	815.26	32.2	25.36	2.23	27.62
Q3 2020	795.24	32.6	24.39	2.70	27.09	826.33	32.4	25.13	2.86	27.81
Q4 2020	847.57	33.1	25.57	2.52	28.09	837.99	32.7	25.63	2.45	28.09
Q1 2021	860.51	32.1	26.85	2.68	29.52	847.33	32.8	26.03	2.65	28.83
Q2 2021	851.15	32.6	26.08	3.83	29.91	850.13	32.7	26.07	3.76	29.82
Q3 2021	838.56	33.1	25.32	3.53	28.84	849.87	32.5	26.11	3.71	29.64
Q4 2021	864.62	32.9	26.29	4.21	30.51	857.94	32.7	26.36	4.14	30.54
Q1 2022	887.26	32.3	27.47	4.23	31.70	868.54	32.8	26.60	4.18	30.93
Q2 2022	873.50	32.6	26.76	4.37	31.12	874.02	32.7	26.75	4.30	31.00
Q3 2022	869.30	33.1	26.23	4.13	30.36	884.38	32.7	27.05	4.33	31.22
Q4 2022	904.70	32.4	27.90	4.61	32.51	896.21	32.6	28.01	4.55	32.59
Q1 2023	926.05	32.4	28.55	4.60	33.15	907.74	32.5	27.63	4.53	32.28
Q2 2023	912.12	32.4	28.19	4.74	32.94	914.15	32.5	28.19	4.66	32.81
Q3 2023	907.10	32.6	27.84	4.66	32.50	919.82	32.6	28.62	4.87	33.45
Q4 2023	927.98	32.6	28.44	5.02	33.47	926.63	32.5	28.62	4.97	33.59
Q1 2024	972.20	32.5	29.96	5.10	35.06	967.43	32.5	28.98	5.01	34.07
Q2 2024	964.53	32.4	29.75	5.39	35.14	967.30	32.4	29.75	5.32	35.03
Q3 2024	956.56	32.7	29.23	5.07	34.29	974.44	32.5	30.01	5.28	35.29
Q4 2024	981.45	32.5	30.18	5.36	35.54	987.30	32.6	30.42	5.33	35.71
Q1 2025	1,029.81	32.3	31.86	5.53	37.39	999.86	32.6	30.81	5.42	36.28
Q2 2025	1,007.58	32.7	30.79	5.46	36.26	1,009.97	32.7	30.83	5.39	36.17
Q3 2025	996.10	32.8	30.36	5.24	35.59	1,019.13	32.6	31.13	5.45	36.63
Q4 2025	1,011.81	32.5	31.12	5.54	36.66	1,023.62	32.6	31.39	5.52	36.85
Q1 2026	1,064.59	32.3	32.93	5.85	38.78	1,031.03	32.6	31.83	5.72	37.59
Q2 2026¹	1,046.88	32.8	31.96	5.77	37.73	1,048.49	32.8	32.02	5.71	37.65
¹Preliminary Estimates

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Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	23.42	24.04	25.65	26.90	27.84	28.25	28.46	0.21	0.7	0.62	2.2
F	Construction	22.19	24.16	23.96	26.15	27.83	28.84	29.07	0.23	0.8	1.24	4.5
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	18.98	20.03	20.65	22.00	22.56	23.11	23.11	0.00	0.0	0.55	2.4
H	Transportation and Storage	21.21	21.56	22.68	22.79	24.69	25.23	25.52	0.29	1.1	0.83	3.4
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	15.37	14.80	15.45	16.54	17.01	17.64	17.64	0.00	0.0	0.63	3.7
J-K	Information and Communication	30.54	33.51	35.39	37.38	38.27	38.51	38.32	-0.19	-0.5	0.05	0.1
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	33.03	33.50	35.39	36.68	37.33	37.88	39.03	1.15	3.0	1.70	4.6
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	27.20	28.96	30.06	31.35	32.34	33.11	33.30	0.19	0.6	0.96	3.0
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	19.81	19.81	21.32	22.36	23.41	24.78	25.08	0.30	1.2	1.67	7.1
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	26.85	27.31	29.49	30.92	31.84	32.60	32.86	0.26	0.8	1.02	3.2
Q	Education	37.44	38.41	40.50	42.11	43.19	44.28	43.98	-0.30	-0.7	0.79	1.8
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	23.45	24.05	26.22	27.11	28.84	30.02	30.22	0.20	0.7	1.38	4.8
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	19.73	19.72	21.03	21.87	23.15	23.45	23.73	0.28	1.2	0.58	2.5
All Sectors		24.66	25.10	26.48	27.84	28.97	29.93	29.94	0.01	0.0	0.97	3.3
Public/Private Sector²
Private Sector		22.71	23.35	24.44	25.70	26.66	27.42	27.50	0.08	0.3	0.84	3.2
Public Sector³		30.58	31.03	33.43	34.99	36.67	37.72	37.81	0.09	0.2	1.14	3.1
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		20.76	21.56	22.67	24.14	24.82	25.49	25.93	0.44	1.7	1.11	4.5
50-250 employees		22.81	23.09	24.04	25.26	25.92	26.63	26.54	-0.09	-0.3	0.62	2.4
Greater than 250 employees		27.43	27.67	29.48	30.70	32.16	33.20	33.11	-0.09	-0.3	0.95	3.0
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 For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
³ Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8d.

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Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change	Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change	Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
B-E	Industry	1.38	1.89	1.85	2.13	1.93	5.02	2.36	-2.66	0.43
F	Construction	0.31	0.44	0.66	1.00	1.10	0.51	0.81	0.30	-0.29
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	1.46	1.65	1.61	1.32	1.51	1.64	1.52	-0.12	0.01
H	Transportation and Storage	1.29	2.02	1.68	1.40	2.06	1.21	2.24	1.03	0.18
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	0.27	0.28	0.47	0.42	0.50	0.49	0.44	-0.05	-0.06
J-K	Information and Communication	4.14	5.28	6.22	6.93	6.46	10.91	8.56	-2.35	2.10
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	2.15	2.12	2.89	2.98	2.90	10.86	3.02	-7.84	0.12
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	2.28	2.42	2.37	2.35	2.98	3.95	4.01	0.06	1.03
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	2.22	1.71	1.31	1.61	2.33	3.84	1.93	-1.91	-0.40
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	1.59	1.67	1.75	2.16	1.74	1.51	1.89	0.38	0.15
Q	Education	0.40	0.41	0.31	1.16	0.40	0.31	0.40	0.09	0.00
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	0.85	1.34	1.19	1.36	0.91	0.92	0.92	0.00	0.01
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	0.41	0.45	0.52	0.46	0.54	1.20	0.48	-0.72	-0.06
All Sectors		1.42	1.65	1.72	1.91	1.82	3.00	2.03	-0.97	0.21
Public/Private Sector²
Private Sector		1.50	1.66	1.77	1.85	1.94	3.51	2.19	-1.32	0.25
Public Sector³		1.17	1.65	1.52	2.12	1.42	1.39	1.50	0.11	0.08
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		0.88	0.84	1.10	0.80	0.98	1.40	1.02	-0.38	0.04
50-250 employees		1.64	1.68	1.66	1.78	1.80	3.28	1.92	-1.36	0.12
Greater than 250 employees		1.65	2.07	2.08	2.54	2.25	3.66	2.55	-1.11	0.30
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 For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
³ Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8d.

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Total Labour Costs

Average hourly total labour costs were €37.73 across all economic sectors in Q2 2026. Information & Communication had the highest average hourly total labour costs at €61.40, followed by €53.79 in Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities and €49.51 in Education.

The sectors with the lowest cost of employing labour were the Accommodation & Food Services Activities sector at €20.27 and the Arts, Sports, Recreation & Other Service Activities sector at €28.51.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 14.5% over the three years to Q2 2026, from €32.94 per hour to €37.73.

	3 Year % Change
Construction	22.4
Professional, scientific and technical activities	19.9
Administrative and support service activities	19.5
Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	16.7
Information and communication	16.2
Accommodation and food service activities	15
Transportation and storage	14.6
All Sectors	14.5
Human health and social work activities	14.1
Financial, insurance and real estate activities	12.4
Industry	12.2
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	12
Wholesale and retail trade	11.5
Education	8.6

Table 6a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 6a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	5.14	5.60	6.02	6.56	6.53	6.97	6.80	-0.17	-2.4	0.27	4.1
F	Construction	1.06	3.22	3.65	3.70	4.52	4.72	4.73	0.01	0.2	0.21	4.6
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	2.71	3.71	3.71	4.18	4.24	4.46	4.31	-0.15	-3.4	0.07	1.7
H	Transportation and Storage	3.05	3.76	3.95	4.04	4.55	4.57	4.67	0.10	2.2	0.12	2.6
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	-1.47	1.30	1.69	1.89	1.99	2.14	2.19	0.05	2.3	0.20	10.1
J-K	Information and Communication	9.67	9.97	11.21	15.48	14.87	14.48	14.52	0.04	0.3	-0.35	-2.4
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	9.91	8.91	9.57	10.25	10.59	12.22	11.73	-0.49	-4.0	1.14	10.8
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	4.50	5.49	5.73	6.44	7.24	8.08	8.46	0.38	4.7	1.22	16.9
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	3.46	2.90	4.02	5.68	3.96	4.95	4.85	-0.10	-2.0	0.89	22.5
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	2.77	2.89	3.17	3.44	3.61	3.81	3.79	-0.02	-0.5	0.18	5.0
Q	Education	3.61	4.35	4.76	5.03	4.92	5.16	5.13	-0.03	-0.6	0.21	4.3
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	2.59	2.89	3.25	3.34	3.58	3.87	3.84	-0.03	-0.8	0.26	7.3
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	1.31	2.66	2.87	3.13	3.36	4.17	4.30	0.13	3.1	0.94	28.0
All Sectors		3.83	4.37	4.74	5.39	5.46	5.85	5.77	-0.08	-1.4	0.31	5.7
Public/Private Sector¹
Private Sector		3.88	4.52	4.93	5.67	5.72	6.20	6.09	-0.11	-1.8	0.37	6.5
Public Sector		3.68	3.83	4.12	4.47	4.59	4.77	4.74	-0.03	-0.6	0.15	3.3
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		1.47	3.04	3.42	3.95	4.12	4.48	4.31	-0.17	-3.8	0.19	4.6
50-250 employees		3.48	3.90	4.37	4.68	4.90	5.57	5.22	-0.35	-6.3	0.32	6.5
Greater than 250 employees		5.26	5.22	5.62	6.40	6.34	6.61	6.68	0.07	1.1	0.34	5.4
¹For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.

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Table 6b Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 6b Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change	Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change	Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
B-E	Industry	0.59	0.63	0.63	0.66	0.65	0.55	0.92	0.37	0.27
F	Construction	0.08	0.10	0.17	0.17	0.31	0.32	0.25	-0.07	-0.06
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	0.62	0.66	0.50	0.63	0.57	0.31	0.55	0.24	-0.02
H	Transportation and Storage	0.10	0.09	0.08	0.06	0.08	0.10	0.13	0.03	0.05
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	0.02	0.02	0.04	0.04	0.04	0.02	0.02	0.00	-0.02
J-K	Information and Communication	3.71	3.02	3.39	6.92	5.27	4.16	5.26	1.10	-0.01
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	0.79	0.56	0.66	1.05	1.10	1.08	1.34	0.26	0.24
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	0.45	0.48	0.38	0.64	1.00	0.80	1.35	0.55	0.35
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	0.80	0.15	0.78	0.45	0.41	0.67	0.65	-0.02	0.24
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.00
Q	Education	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.00	0.00
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	0.09	0.09	0.10	0.12	0.13	0.15	0.22	0.07	0.09
All Sectors		0.51	0.44	0.47	0.73	0.64	0.52	0.70	0.18	0.06
Public/Private Sector¹
Private Sector		0.67	0.57	0.61	0.95	0.82	0.68	0.92	0.24	0.10
Public Sector		0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.03	0.01	0.01	0.00	-0.02
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		0.19	0.18	0.16	0.19	0.25	0.24	0.19	-0.05	-0.06
50-250 employees		0.27	0.20	0.39	0.45	0.50	0.47	0.48	0.01	-0.02
Greater than 250 employees		0.76	0.67	0.68	1.11	0.88	0.67	1.04	0.37	0.16
¹ Average hourly benefits 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.
²For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.

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Table 6c Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 6c Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	29.93	31.53	33.52	35.59	36.30	40.24	37.62	-2.62	-6.5	1.32	3.6
F	Construction	23.56	27.82	28.27	30.85	33.45	34.06	34.61	0.55	1.6	1.16	3.5
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	23.16	25.38	25.96	27.50	28.30	29.21	28.94	-0.27	-0.9	0.64	2.3
H	Transportation and Storage	25.54	27.33	28.31	28.23	31.30	31.01	32.43	1.42	4.6	1.13	3.6
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	14.16	16.37	17.62	18.85	19.50	20.27	20.27	0.00	0.0	0.77	3.9
J-K	Information and Communication	44.35	48.77	52.83	59.78	59.60	63.90	61.40	-2.50	-3.9	1.80	3.0
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	45.08	44.54	47.85	49.91	50.83	60.95	53.79	-7.16	-11.7	2.96	5.8
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	33.98	36.86	38.16	40.14	42.55	45.14	45.77	0.63	1.4	3.22	7.6
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	25.49	24.43	26.66	29.64	29.70	33.58	31.87	-1.71	-5.1	2.17	7.3
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	31.21	31.87	34.41	36.52	37.19	37.92	38.54	0.62	1.6	1.35	3.6
Q	Education	41.45	43.17	45.57	48.31	48.51	49.75	49.51	-0.24	-0.5	1.00	2.1
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	26.89	28.28	30.66	31.81	33.33	34.81	34.99	0.18	0.5	1.66	5.0
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	21.44	22.83	24.42	25.47	27.05	28.82	28.51	-0.31	-1.1	1.46	5.4
All Sectors		29.91	31.12	32.94	35.14	36.26	38.78	37.73	-1.05	-2.7	1.47	4.1
Public/Private Sector¹
Private Sector		28.09	29.53	31.14	33.21	34.33	37.13	35.78	-1.35	-3.6	1.45	4.2
Public Sector		35.42	36.50	39.06	41.57	42.68	43.88	44.04	0.16	0.4	1.36	3.2
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		23.10	25.44	27.18	28.89	29.93	31.37	31.26	-0.11	-0.4	1.33	4.4
50-250 employees		27.93	28.67	30.07	31.72	32.62	35.48	33.68	-1.80	-5.1	1.06	3.2
Greater than 250 employees		34.33	34.97	37.18	39.63	40.76	43.47	42.34	-1.13	-2.6	1.58	3.9
¹Average 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.
²For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.

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Job Vacancies

The job vacancy rate in Q2 2026, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter was 1.3%, up 0.1% from Q1 2026.

The highest job vacancy rates in Q2 2026 were 3.9% in the Public Administration & Defence sector, followed by 2.6% in the Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities sector.

There were 30,000 job vacancies, (rounded to the nearest 100), at the end of Q2 2026, a decrease of 1,500 from the 31,500 vacancies in Q2 2025.

X-axis label	Job Vacancy Rate
Q219	1.1
Q319	0.9
Q419	0.9
Q120	0.8
Q220	0.7
Q320	0.8
Q420	0.9
Q121	1
Q221	1.2
Q321	1.5
Q421	1.4
Q122	1.6
Q222	1.6
Q322	1.6
Q422	1.3
Q123	1.5
Q223	1.3
Q323	1.2
Q423	1.2
Q124	1.2
Q224	1.3
Q324	1.2
Q424	1.2
Q125	1.3
Q225	1.3
Q325	1.4
Q425	1.2
Q126	1.2
Q226	1.3

Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026
NACE Principal Activity		Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2
B-E	Industry	228,800	235,800	255,600	262,600	255,600	277,700	280,300	281,100	286,300
F	Construction	112,200	96,400	101,200	129,900	140,600	132,000	144,400	153,500	159,300
G	Wholesale and Retail Trade	291,900	284,800	298,700	316,600	330,100	310,900	316,500	320,900	309,800
H	Transportation and Storage	83,500	74,400	80,200	86,500	91,300	99,100	100,800	102,800	105,300
I	Accommodation and Food Service Activities	187,300	128,300	125,000	171,900	185,400	190,000	186,600	176,300	195,100
J-K	Information and Communication	75,300	85,000	90,300	107,700	112,300	118,000	112,400	107,900	113,600
L-M	Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities	97,600	112,500	113,100	115,000	119,200	113,600	120,900	127,900	126,900
N	Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	98,400	99,600	115,900	121,100	130,600	147,100	153,900	131,000	137,400
O	Administrative and Support Service Activities	107,300	87,500	92,500	103,400	107,100	105,400	109,700	95,900	104,800
P	Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security	136,600	146,100	158,800	157,400	175,600	183,700	176,800	179,400	183,200
Q	Education	165,600	182,200	198,500	202,700	202,900	212,800	224,600	244,400	241,000
R	Human Health and Social Work Activities	252,400	248,100	267,200	293,800	306,900	323,600	333,900	323,900	338,300
S-T	Arts, Sports, Recreation and Other Service Activities	59,200	49,600	54,200	58,400	65,900	62,900	63,600	63,100	67,400
All Sectors		1,896,100	1,830,200	1,951,300	2,127,000	2,223,500	2,276,900	2,324,400	2,308,200	2,368,400
Public/Private Sector²
Private Sector		1,489,500	1,431,600	1,531,700	1,698,900	1,781,000	1,818,800	1,866,200	1,843,800	1,896,300
Public Sector		407,800	399,000	419,900	429,100	442,500	458,100	458,200	464,300	472,000
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 PxStat table EHQ08.

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Table 7b Job vacancies by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 7c Job vacancy rate by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Public Sector

Average weekly earnings increased by 3.2% across the public sector in the year to Q2 2026, rising from €1,221.90 to €1,261.16.

An Garda Síochána had the highest average weekly earnings and average weekly paid hours in Q2 2026 in the public sector at €1,833.73 and 43.2 hours respectively. The highest average hourly earnings in this period were €50.94 in the Education sector.

FALSE

	Q2 2025	Q2 2026
Civil service	1153.94	1210.58
Defence	1142.41	1202.57
Garda Siochana	1764.89	1833.73
Education	1212.07	1260.4
Regional bodies	1079.31	1089.04
Health	1223.79	1252.91
Semi-state	1268.4	1300.55
All public sector	1221.9	1261.16

	Q2 2025	Q2 2026
Civil service	53900	54600
Defence	7900	8300
Garda Siochana	14800	15200
Education	110000	109200
Regional bodies	37900	40100
Health	167100	173600
Semi-state	66700	71100

Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 8b Average hourly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 8c Average weekly paid hours by public sector sub-sector and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 8d Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Additional Tables

Table A1 Estimates of average weekly earnings by broad occupational categories

Table A2 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter

Table A3 Preliminary data versus final data

Table A3 Preliminary data versus final data¹
		Preliminary Q1 2026			Final Q1 2026			Percentage Change
NACE Principal Activity		Average weekly earnings	Average hourly earnings	Average weekly hours	Average weekly earnings	Average hourly earnings	Average weekly hours	Average weekly earnings	Average hourly earnings	Average weekly hours
		€	€	hours	€	€	hours	%	%	%
B-E	Industry	1,276.55	33.58	38.0	1,258.63	33.27	37.8	-1.4	-0.9	-0.5
F	Construction	1,027.45	29.00	35.4	1,040.08	29.35	35.4	1.2	1.2	0.0
G	Wholesale and retail trade	739.95	25.14	29.4	739.00	24.75	29.9	-0.1	-1.6	1.7
H	Transportation and storage	958.76	27.32	35.1	931.85	26.43	35.3	-2.8	-3.3	0.6
I	Accommodation and food service activities	469.07	18.21	25.8	468.23	18.13	25.8	-0.2	-0.4	0.0
J-K	Information and communication	1,824.62	48.92	37.3	1,846.81	49.41	37.4	1.2	1.0	0.3
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	1,688.13	46.94	36.0	1,748.31	48.73	35.9	3.6	3.8	-0.3
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	1,311.38	37.23	35.2	1,293.37	37.06	34.9	-1.4	-0.5	-0.9
O	Administrative and support service activities	848.65	28.65	29.6	840.46	28.63	29.4	-1.0	-0.1	-0.7
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	1,248.66	34.19	36.5	1,222.95	34.11	35.9	-2.1	-0.2	-1.6
Q	Education	1,133.29	45.74	24.8	1,100.60	44.59	24.7	-2.9	-2.5	-0.4
R	Human health and social work activities	1,008.43	31.02	32.5	1,005.83	30.94	32.5	-0.3	-0.3	0.0
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	695.00	24.24	28.7	707.59	24.65	28.7	1.8	1.7	0.0
Total		1,075.58	33.14	32.5	1,064.59	32.93	32.3	-1.0	-0.6	-0.6
Public/Private Sector
Private sector		1,007.18	31.12	32.4	997.77	30.93	32.3	-0.9	-0.6	-0.3
Public sector		1,280.47	39.13	32.7	1,273.24	39.11	32.6	-0.6	-0.1	-0.3
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		835.39	27.30	30.6	817.31	26.89	30.4	-2.2	-1.5	-0.7
50-250 employees		958.69	29.66	32.3	968.52	29.92	32.4	1.0	0.9	0.3
Greater than 250 employees		1,232.88	36.92	33.4	1,228.47	36.86	33.3	-0.4	-0.2	-0.3
¹See background notes.

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q2 2026 Table A3 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter - Preliminary estimates
Public sector sub-sector	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
Public sector sub-sector	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Quarterly change		Annual change
	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
Civil Service	980.22	968.79	1,067.76	1,102.21	1,153.94	1,199.16	1,210.58	11.42	1.0	56.64	4.9
Defence	956.85	977.68	1,031.96	1,054.32	1,142.41	1,195.30	1,202.57	7.27	0.6	60.16	5.3
Garda Siochana	1,480.51	1,503.32	1,732.43	1,782.49	1,764.89	1,557.47	1,833.73	276.26	17.7	68.84	3.9
Education	1,060.14	1,054.57	1,088.43	1,132.09	1,212.07	1,290.06	1,260.40	-29.66	-2.3	48.33	4.0
Regional Bodies	874.88	886.50	965.36	1,025.08	1,079.31	1,081.38	1,089.04	7.66	0.7	9.73	0.9
Health	986.62	1,020.28	1,091.51	1,148.24	1,223.79	1,307.70	1,252.91	-54.79	-4.2	29.12	2.4
Semi-State	1,092.58	1,138.38	1,169.65	1,235.23	1,268.40	1,298.16	1,300.55	2.39	0.2	32.15	2.5
Total Public Sector	1,030.85	1,045.21	1,108.81	1,159.09	1,221.90	1,273.24	1,261.16	-12.08	-0.9	39.26	3.2
Total Public Sector excluding Semi-State Bodies	1,021.89	1,031.52	1,099.99	1,147.47	1,214.71	1,269.38	1,255.20	-14.18	-1.1	40.49	3.3
Semi-State by Sub-Sector
Non Commercial Semi-State Bodies	1,065.87	1,066.84	1,108.49	1,195.45	1,206.77	1,301.02	1,292.57	-8.45	-0.6	85.80	7.1
Commercial Semi-State Bodies	1,105.50	1,168.01	1,202.23	1,253.81	1,298.72	1,296.93	1,304.04	7.11	0.5	5.32	0.4

Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
Public sector sub-sector	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	2026	Annual change
	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q2	Q1	Q2	Annual change
									%
Civil Service	45,100	44,500	45,300	50,800	53,900	54,300	54,600	700	1.3
Defence	8,900	8,600	8,100	7,800	7,900	8,100	8,300	400	5.1
Garda Siochana	14,500	14,400	14,300	14,400	14,800	15,100	15,200	400	2.7
Education	112,900	112,900	113,400	114,000	110,000	109,800	109,200	-800	-0.7
Regional Bodies	35,100	35,400	37,200	38,100	37,900	36,400	40,100	2,200	5.8
Health	146,900	155,000	163,800	168,800	167,100	169,900	173,600	6,500	3.9
Semi-State	56,400	58,400	60,500	64,200	66,700	70,700	71,100	4,400	6.6
Total Public Sector	419,900	429,100	442,500	458,100	458,200	464,300	472,000	13,800	3.0
Total Public Sector excluding Semi-State Bodies	363,400	370,800	382,000	393,900	391,500	393,700	401,000	9,500	2.4
Semi-State by Sub-Sector
Non Commercial Semi-State Bodies	15,500	16,700	16,200	17,300	18,800	19,500	19,500	700	3.7
Commercial Semi-State Bodies	40,900	41,600	44,300	46,900	47,900	51,100	51,500	3,600	7.5
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.

Table A1 Estimates of average weekly earnings by broad occupational categories¹
	2024	2025	2025	2026	Quarterly change	Annual change
Occupation by NACE groups	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change	Annual change
	€	€	€	€	%	%
Managers, professionals and associated professionals
B-E	1,755.59	1,827.13	1,823.15	1,902.40	4.3	4.1
B-O, S, T	1,634.95	1,695.15	1,748.22	1,764.07	0.9	4.1
P-R	1,456.75	1,556.04	1,584.12	1,636.47	3.3	5.2
Total (B-T)	1,523.42	1,600.02	1,635.13	1,668.71	2.1	4.3
Clerical, sales and service employees
B-E	1,004.73	1,051.86	1,080.31	1,084.41	0.4	3.1
B-O, S, T	685.34	728.43	747.81	782.83	4.7	7.5
P-R	713.35	773.93	779.43	804.84	3.3	4.0
Total (B-T)	684.49	734.08	752.64	786.75	4.5	7.2
Production, transport, craft and other manual workers
B-E	906.51	936.32	952.31	946.14	-0.6	1.0
B-O, S, T	750.54	804.40	843.37	857.36	1.7	6.6
P-R	674.72	734.05	756.59	789.20	4.3	7.5
Total (B-T)	720.28	772.61	808.05	823.89	2.0	6.6
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
		Employer Response Rate %				Respondent Enterprises	Respondent Enterprises	Employee Response Rate %
NACE Principal Activity		Final Q1 2025	Preliminary Q1 2026	Final Q1 2026	Preliminary Q2 2026	Final Q1 2026	Preliminary Q2 2026	Final Q1 2025	Preliminary Q1 2026	Final Q1 2026	Preliminary Q2 2026
B-E	Industry	66.7	55.8	62.5	45.8	638	470	75.6	64.7	73.3	53.7
F	Construction	40.5	34.1	36.8	27.3	125	95	51.1	39.9	44.5	34.8
G	Wholesale and retail trade	52.4	49.7	54.3	39.3	610	447	70.4	63.8	71.6	52.4
H	Transportation and storage	58.6	46.7	55.3	42.1	135	104	83.6	79.6	82.8	63.6
I	Accommodation and food service activities	54.1	45.3	50.7	37.8	417	318	60.9	52.2	56.7	41.4
J-K	Information and communication	71.5	54.1	65.0	45.2	286	200	82.8	67.7	81.8	55.9
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	71.8	59.4	71.2	55.5	250	198	85.0	77.5	83.9	71.8
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	61.5	53.3	63.2	47.0	320	242	70.8	67.5	76.9	52.5
O	Administrative and support service activities	50.4	49.7	52.4	39.5	264	201	63.6	48.9	50.4	40.7
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	80.0	74.6	76.8	65.5	109	93	49.2	90.3	91.4	71.2
Q	Education	72.0	55.3	60.0	49.2	117	97	94.3	88.4	90.0	87.9
R	Human health and social work activities	65.0	54.6	62.3	44.7	478	348	131.9	75.6	78.5	68.8
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	71.0	62.7	71.2	50.5	208	149	77.4	67.2	77.0	46.1
Total		60.5	52.1	58.7	43.3	3,957	2,962	77.0	69.5	75.0	59.3
¹This 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.

Earnings and Labour Costs Q1 2026 (Final) Q2 2026 (Preliminary Estimates)