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Earnings and Labour Costs Q3 2025 (Final) Q4 2025 (Preliminary Estimates)

Average weekly earnings up 3.1% in the 12 months to Q4 2025

Online ISSN: 2009-5023

CSO statistical release, 24 February 2026, 11am

From Q1 2026 onwards, this release will begin using the new NACE Rev.2.1 classification. This updated EU-wide system of classification replaces NACE Rev.2 and will better reflect emerging economic activities and provide a more accurate picture of the Irish economy. For more information on the upcoming changes, visit our NACE - Classification of Economic Activities webpage.

Key Findings

Average weekly earnings were €1,011.88 in Quarter 4 (Q4) 2025, up 3.1% from €981.45 in Q4 2024.
Average hourly earnings rose by 3.4% to €31.22 in Q4 2025, from €30.18 in Q4 2024.
Average weekly paid hours were 32.4 in Q4 2025, down 0.3% from the Q4 2024 hours of 32.5.
The job vacancy rate at the end of Q4 2025 was 1.3% up 0.1% from Q4 2024, but 0.1% lower than the rate recorded at the end of Q3 2025.
Average hourly other labour costs increased by 2.1% to €5.47 in Q4 2025, from €5.36 in Q4 2024.
The highest averages for hourly total labour costs in Q4 2025 were €59.53 in Information & Communication, €49.52 in Education, and €49.41 in Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities.
The Public Administration & Defence sector had the highest job vacancy rate at 5.7% in Q4 2025, followed by 2.5% in the Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities sector.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (24 February 2026) published Earnings and Labour costs results with Preliminary estimates for Quarter 4 (Q4) 2025 and Final estimates for Q3 2025.

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, driven by a number of factors, including a stable job vacancy rate since over the last 2 years, as well as annual employment growth of 2.0% as reported in the latest CSO Labour Force Survey. Preliminary estimates for October, November, December (Q4) 2025 show average weekly earnings were €1,011.88, up 3.1% compared with €981.45 in Q4 2024.

Earnings and Hours

Average weekly earnings rose across all sectors in the year to Q4 2025. The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly earnings in Q4 2025 was 6.8% in the Accommodation & Food Services Activities sector, followed by a rise of 6.2% in the Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities sector.

Average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 3.4% to €31.22, increasing in all 13 of the economic sectors, while average weekly paid hours decreased by 0.3% from 32.5 in Q4 2024 to 32.4 in Q4 2025.

Labour Costs

Average hourly other labour costs grew by 2.1% across all economic sectors to €5.47 in Q4 2025 from €5.36 in Q4 2024, while average hourly total labour costs increased by 3.3% to €36.70 in the same period.

The sector with the highest average hourly total labour costs in Q4 2025 was Information & Communication at €59.53. The lowest average total labour costs were in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, which recorded a rate of €20.07.

Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate in Q4 2025, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter, was 1.3%, an increase of 0.1% from Q4 2024, but down 0.1% from the rate recorded at the end of Q3 2025."

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 Q4 2025

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
Q4 2024	981.45	30.18	35.54	32.5
Q4 2025	1,011.88	31.22	36.70	32.4
Annual % change	3.1	3.4	3.3	-0.3
	Seasonally Adjusted
Q3 2025	1,014.66	31.08	36.51	32.6
Q4 2025	1,021.51	31.42	36.91	32.4
Quarterly % change	0.7	1.1	1.1	-0.6

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q4 2025 HLT (XLS 10KB)

Earnings and Hours

Average weekly earnings were €1,011.88 in Q4 2025, an increase of 3.1% when compared with €981.45 from one year earlier, according to preliminary estimates of the Earnings and Labour Costs quarterly release.

The largest annual percentage increase in Q4 2025 in average weekly earnings was 6.8% in the Accommodation & Food Services Activities sector, rising from €448.20 to €478.67. The second largest increase was 6.2% in the Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities sector which rose from €1,339.25 to €1,422.89 over the year.

In the three years to Q4 2025, average weekly earnings rose by 11.8%. All sectors saw increases in average weekly earnings over this period.

Average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 3.4% to €31.22 in Q4 2025, while average weekly paid hours decreased slightly from 32.5 in Q4 2024 to 32.4 in Q4 2025. Over the three years from Q4 2022 to Q4 2025, average hourly earnings rose by 11.9% from €27.90 to €31.22, while average paid hours have remained the same at 32.4 hours.

	3 Year % Change
Accommodation & food	17
Admin & support service	14.4
Professional & technical	14.3
Industry	14.2
Wholesale & retail	13.1
Information & communication	13.1
Transportation	12.8
Financial & real estate	12.6
Arts & entertainment	12.2
All sectors	11.8
Health & social	10.9
Construction	9.5
Education	8.2
Public admin & defence	5.2

	Q4 2022	Q4 2025
Industry	26.75	30.6
Construction	25.01	28.75
Wholesale & retail	21.52	24.53
Transportation	23.96	26.69
Accommodation & food	15.41	17.99
Information & communication	40.54	45.44
Financial & real estate	36.3	39.27
Professional & technical	31.57	35.62
Admin & support service	21.78	25.8
Public admin & defence	31.93	33.58
Education	42.85	44.46
Health & social	27.74	30.46
Arts & entertainment	20.97	23.37
All sectors	27.9	31.22

X-axis label	Unadjusted	Seasonally Adjusted
Q418	23.31	23.38
Q119	24.05	23.4
Q219	23.69	23.69
Q319	23.54	24.14
Q419	24.23	24.31
Q120	24.76	24.06
Q220	25.38	25.36
Q320	24.38	25.02
Q420	25.57	25.67
Q121	26.84	26.1
Q221	26.08	26.04
Q321	25.31	26
Q421	26.29	26.41
Q122	27.46	26.67
Q222	26.76	26.71
Q322	26.23	26.93
Q422	27.9	28.04
Q123	28.55	27.71
Q223	28.19	28.14
Q323	27.84	28.56
Q423	28.44	28.59
Q124	29.96	29.1
Q224	29.75	29.71
Q324	29.23	29.95
Q424	30.18	30.36
Q125	31.86	30.99
Q225	30.79	30.75
Q325	30.36	31.08
Q425	31.22	31.42

X-axis label	Unadjusted	Seasonally Adjusted
Q418	32.4	32.4
Q119	32.1	32.4
Q219	32.6	32.6
Q319	32.7	32.5
Q419	32.4	32.4
Q120	32.3	32.4
Q220	32.2	32.2
Q320	32.6	32.4
Q420	33.1	32.7
Q121	32.1	32.8
Q221	32.6	32.6
Q321	33.1	32.6
Q421	32.9	32.7
Q122	32.3	32.8
Q222	32.6	32.6
Q322	33.1	32.7
Q422	32.4	32.5
Q123	32.4	32.6
Q223	32.4	32.4
Q323	32.6	32.5
Q423	32.6	32.5
Q124	32.5	32.6
Q224	32.4	32.5
Q324	32.7	32.5
Q424	32.5	32.5
Q125	32.3	32.6
Q225	32.7	32.8
Q325	32.8	32.6
Q425	32.4	32.4

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

Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	969.90	981.33	1,016.40	1,063.98	1,122.03	1,114.62	1,161.23	46.61	4.2	39.20	3.5
F	Construction	888.54	916.08	940.24	947.70	1,019.98	1,007.50	1,029.35	21.85	2.2	9.37	0.9
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	635.24	659.06	652.08	682.17	718.43	727.74	737.24	9.50	1.3	18.81	2.6
H	Transportation and storage	799.32	808.07	867.79	893.14	932.36	928.79	978.46	49.67	5.3	46.10	4.9
I	Accommodation and food services	391.21	391.15	409.23	438.66	448.20	478.26	478.67	0.41	0.1	30.47	6.8
J	Information and communication	1,308.68	1,376.70	1,516.16	1,581.02	1,673.03	1,690.87	1,714.26	23.39	1.4	41.23	2.5
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	1,182.89	1,227.05	1,263.49	1,313.57	1,339.25	1,379.47	1,422.89	43.42	3.1	83.64	6.2
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	1,039.96	1,087.90	1,091.23	1,144.02	1,192.45	1,194.44	1,247.08	52.64	4.4	54.63	4.6
N	Administrative and support services	654.70	686.20	696.87	749.22	773.47	772.06	797.05	24.99	3.2	23.58	3.0
O	Public administration and defence	1,010.73	1,011.61	1,132.45	1,119.80	1,159.78	1,188.52	1,191.33	2.81	0.2	31.55	2.7
P	Education	906.26	927.10	999.05	990.83	1,057.28	1,097.92	1,080.60	-17.32	-1.6	23.32	2.2
Q	Human health and social work	787.82	806.35	866.85	887.91	934.51	978.31	961.32	-16.99	-1.7	26.81	2.9
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	556.55	592.75	591.01	646.98	648.80	663.69	662.86	-0.83	-0.1	14.06	2.2
All Sectors		847.54	864.63	904.69	927.98	981.45	996.10	1,011.88	15.78	1.6	30.43	3.1
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		792.92	815.66	835.52	870.10	916.20	919.85	942.05	22.20	2.4	25.85	2.8
Public sector²		1,021.27	1,023.27	1,133.91	1,119.37	1,186.72	1,245.98	1,230.11	-15.87	-1.3	43.39	3.7
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		679.28	703.62	708.87	760.16	800.32	796.26	824.75	28.49	3.6	24.43	3.1
50-250 employees		809.59	816.66	834.87	847.29	898.82	886.69	906.00	19.31	2.2	7.18	0.8
Greater than 250 employees		966.09	978.63	1,046.98	1,053.47	1,108.84	1,143.14	1,149.69	6.55	0.6	40.85	3.7
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 Q4 2025 Table 1 (XLS 13KB)

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

Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	24.73	25.52	26.75	27.98	29.49	29.15	30.60	1.45	5.0	1.11	3.8
F	Construction	23.27	23.75	25.01	25.58	28.29	27.33	28.75	1.42	5.2	0.46	1.6
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	20.38	21.20	21.52	22.45	23.74	23.38	24.53	1.15	4.9	0.79	3.3
H	Transportation and storage	22.01	22.48	23.96	23.36	25.78	25.42	26.69	1.27	5.0	0.91	3.5
I	Accommodation and food services	15.66	14.94	15.41	16.20	16.95	17.74	17.99	0.25	1.4	1.04	6.1
J	Information and communication	35.35	37.25	40.54	42.06	44.96	45.24	45.44	0.20	0.4	0.48	1.1
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	33.88	35.18	36.30	37.80	38.49	38.33	39.27	0.94	2.5	0.78	2.0
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	29.65	30.83	31.57	33.09	34.21	34.55	35.62	1.07	3.1	1.41	4.1
N	Administrative and support services	20.44	21.24	21.78	23.16	24.60	24.97	25.80	0.83	3.3	1.20	4.9
O	Public administration and defence	27.05	28.19	31.93	31.12	32.31	33.12	33.58	0.46	1.4	1.27	3.9
P	Education	37.46	38.65	42.85	41.41	43.38	45.91	44.46	-1.45	-3.2	1.08	2.5
Q	Human health and social work	24.37	24.80	27.74	27.73	29.05	30.29	30.46	0.17	0.6	1.41	4.9
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	19.53	20.60	20.97	22.14	22.79	23.19	23.37	0.18	0.8	0.58	2.5
All Sectors		25.57	26.29	27.90	28.44	30.18	30.36	31.22	0.86	2.8	1.04	3.4
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		23.83	24.61	25.61	26.49	28.03	27.97	28.90	0.93	3.3	0.87	3.1
Public sector²		31.21	31.94	35.69	35.11	37.09	38.27	38.67	0.40	1.0	1.58	4.3
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		21.40	22.21	22.89	24.14	25.75	25.65	26.91	1.26	4.9	1.16	4.5
50-250 employees		24.14	24.40	25.29	25.75	27.40	26.69	27.39	0.70	2.6	-0.01	0.0
Greater than 250 employees		28.50	29.30	31.63	31.75	33.40	34.00	34.72	0.72	2.1	1.32	4.0
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 Q4 2025 Table 2 (XLS 13KB)

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

Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	%	hours	%
B-E	Industry	39.2	38.5	38.0	38.0	38.0	38.2	37.9	-0.3	-0.8	-0.1	-0.3
F	Construction	38.2	38.6	37.6	37.1	36.1	36.9	35.8	-1.1	-3.0	-0.3	-0.8
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	31.2	31.1	30.3	30.4	30.3	31.1	30.1	-1.0	-3.2	-0.2	-0.7
H	Transportation and storage	36.3	35.9	36.2	38.2	36.2	36.5	36.7	0.2	0.5	0.5	1.4
I	Accommodation and food services	25.0	26.2	26.5	27.1	26.4	27.0	26.6	-0.4	-1.5	0.2	0.8
J	Information and communication	37.0	37.0	37.4	37.6	37.2	37.4	37.7	0.3	0.8	0.5	1.3
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	34.9	34.9	34.8	34.7	34.8	36.0	36.2	0.2	0.6	1.4	4.0
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	35.1	35.3	34.6	34.6	34.9	34.6	35.0	0.4	1.2	0.1	0.3
N	Administrative and support services	32.0	32.3	32.0	32.3	31.4	30.9	30.9	0.0	0.0	-0.5	-1.6
O	Public administration and defence	37.4	35.9	35.5	36.0	35.9	35.9	35.5	-0.4	-1.1	-0.4	-1.1
P	Education	24.2	24.0	23.3	23.9	24.4	23.9	24.3	0.4	1.7	-0.1	-0.4
Q	Human health and social work	32.3	32.5	31.3	32.0	32.2	32.3	31.6	-0.7	-2.2	-0.6	-1.9
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	28.5	28.8	28.2	29.2	28.5	28.6	28.4	-0.2	-0.7	-0.1	-0.4
All Sectors		33.1	32.9	32.4	32.6	32.5	32.8	32.4	-0.4	-1.2	-0.1	-0.3
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		33.3	33.1	32.6	32.8	32.7	32.9	32.6	-0.3	-0.9	-0.1	-0.3
Public sector²		32.7	32.0	31.8	31.9	32.0	32.6	31.8	-0.8	-2.5	-0.2	-0.6
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		31.7	31.7	31.0	31.5	31.1	31.0	30.7	-0.3	-1.0	-0.4	-1.3
50-250 employees		33.5	33.5	33.0	32.9	32.8	33.2	33.1	-0.1	-0.3	0.3	0.9
Greater than 250 employees		33.9	33.4	33.1	33.2	33.2	33.6	33.1	-0.5	-1.5	-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 Q4 2025 Table 3 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 4 Earnings, hours and labour costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by 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	€	€	€
Q4 2018	755.99	32.4	23.31	3.66	26.97	756.48	32.4	23.38	3.60	26.96
Q1 2019	771.43	32.1	24.05	3.69	27.74	761.37	32.4	23.40	3.68	27.09
Q2 2019	771.39	32.6	23.69	3.81	27.50	769.80	32.6	23.69	3.78	27.50
Q3 2019	769.09	32.7	23.54	3.77	27.31	781.06	32.5	24.14	3.87	27.99
Q4 2019	786.36	32.4	24.23	3.96	28.20	787.45	32.4	24.31	3.90	28.22
Q1 2020	799.96	32.3	24.76	3.86	28.61	787.42	32.4	24.06	3.84	27.90
Q2 2020	817.34	32.2	25.38	2.29	27.67	815.42	32.2	25.36	2.25	27.63
Q3 2020	795.04	32.6	24.38	2.69	27.08	809.82	32.4	25.02	2.81	27.82
Q4 2020	847.54	33.1	25.57	2.52	28.09	848.39	32.7	25.67	2.46	28.16
Q1 2021	860.45	32.1	26.84	2.68	29.52	845.23	32.8	26.10	2.65	28.75
Q2 2021	851.14	32.6	26.08	3.83	29.91	850.05	32.6	26.04	2.88	28.91
Q3 2021	838.47	33.1	25.31	3.53	28.84	855.30	32.6	26.00	2.72	28.70
Q4 2021	864.63	32.9	26.29	4.21	30.51	865.70	32.7	26.41	3.24	29.70
Q1 2022	887.17	32.3	27.46	4.23	31.69	869.10	32.8	26.67	3.57	30.25
Q2 2022	873.32	32.6	26.76	4.37	31.12	872.67	32.6	26.71	4.19	30.85
Q3 2022	869.17	33.1	26.23	4.13	30.36	886.32	32.7	26.93	4.29	31.20
Q4 2022	904.69	32.4	27.90	4.61	32.51	906.16	32.5	28.04	4.55	32.65
Q1 2023	926.05	32.4	28.55	4.60	33.15	904.89	32.6	27.71	4.54	32.26
Q2 2023	912.12	32.4	28.19	4.74	32.94	911.79	32.4	28.14	4.70	32.77
Q3 2023	907.10	32.6	27.84	4.66	32.50	924.22	32.5	28.56	4.82	33.37
Q4 2023	927.98	32.6	28.44	5.02	33.47	932.70	32.5	28.59	4.96	33.63
Q1 2024	972.20	32.5	29.96	5.10	35.06	948.04	32.6	29.10	5.03	34.12
Q2 2024	964.54	32.4	29.75	5.39	35.14	964.32	32.5	29.71	5.34	34.97
Q3 2024	956.56	32.7	29.23	5.07	34.29	974.76	32.5	29.95	5.25	35.20
Q4 2024	981.45	32.5	30.18	5.36	35.54	989.32	32.5	30.36	5.31	35.74
Q1 2025	1,029.81	32.3	31.86	5.53	37.39	1,003.34	32.6	30.99	5.45	36.44
Q2 2025	1,007.58	32.7	30.79	5.46	36.26	1,007.20	32.8	30.75	5.41	36.08
Q3 2025	996.10	32.8	30.36	5.24	35.59	1,014.66	32.6	31.08	5.42	36.51
Q4 2025¹	1,011.88	32.4	31.22	5.47	36.70	1,021.51	32.4	31.42	5.42	36.91
¹Preliminary Estimates

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q4 2025 Table 4 (XLS 13KB)

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

Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	23.24	23.90	25.04	26.27	27.64	27.79	28.47	0.68	2.4	0.83	3.0
F	Construction	22.40	22.86	23.98	25.04	27.44	26.89	28.07	1.18	4.4	0.63	2.3
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	18.84	19.47	20.09	20.98	22.26	22.57	23.16	0.59	2.6	0.90	4.0
H	Transportation and storage	20.84	20.91	21.95	22.34	24.30	24.43	25.26	0.83	3.4	0.96	4.0
I	Accommodation and food services	15.17	14.63	15.10	15.73	16.52	17.30	17.30	0.00	0.0	0.78	4.7
J	Information and communication	30.49	31.43	34.69	36.08	37.88	38.03	38.91	0.88	2.3	1.03	2.7
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	32.05	32.48	34.06	35.11	36.31	36.77	37.49	0.72	2.0	1.18	3.2
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	26.63	28.40	29.17	30.88	31.69	32.46	33.27	0.81	2.5	1.58	5.0
N	Administrative and support services	19.06	19.73	20.40	21.82	22.82	23.62	24.15	0.53	2.2	1.33	5.8
O	Public administration and defence	25.83	27.06	29.48	29.88	31.05	32.00	32.34	0.34	1.1	1.29	4.2
P	Education	36.95	38.25	39.76	40.96	42.85	45.21	43.99	-1.22	-2.7	1.14	2.7
Q	Human health and social work	23.42	23.87	25.61	26.50	27.95	29.50	29.52	0.02	0.1	1.57	5.6
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	18.90	19.83	20.42	21.47	22.00	22.76	22.57	-0.19	-0.8	0.57	2.6
All Sectors		24.07	24.68	25.88	26.88	28.48	29.00	29.62	0.62	2.1	1.14	4.0
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		22.22	22.82	23.90	24.81	26.19	26.55	27.15	0.60	2.3	0.96	3.7
Public sector³		30.07	30.91	32.62	33.93	35.81	37.12	37.53	0.41	1.1	1.72	4.8
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		20.32	20.76	21.74	23.00	24.57	24.91	25.75	0.84	3.4	1.18	4.8
50-250 employees		22.64	22.88	23.81	24.32	25.82	25.62	25.94	0.32	1.2	0.12	0.5
Greater than 250 employees		26.76	27.56	28.94	29.92	31.39	32.24	32.85	0.61	1.9	1.46	4.7
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 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

Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change	Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change	Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
B-E	Industry	1.49	1.62	1.71	1.70	1.85	1.36	2.13	0.77	0.28
F	Construction	0.87	0.89	1.03	0.54	0.85	0.44	0.67	0.23	-0.18
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	1.53	1.73	1.42	1.47	1.48	0.81	1.36	0.55	-0.12
H	Transportation and storage	1.18	1.57	2.01	1.02	1.48	0.99	1.43	0.44	-0.05
I	Accommodation and food services	0.49	0.31	0.31	0.48	0.43	0.45	0.68	0.23	0.25
J	Information and communication	4.87	5.81	5.85	5.99	7.08	7.21	6.53	-0.68	-0.55
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	1.83	2.70	2.24	2.70	2.18	1.56	1.78	0.22	-0.40
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	3.02	2.43	2.40	2.21	2.52	2.08	2.35	0.27	-0.17
N	Administrative and support services	1.38	1.51	1.38	1.34	1.78	1.35	1.66	0.31	-0.12
O	Public administration and defence	1.21	1.14	2.45	1.24	1.26	1.12	1.24	0.12	-0.02
P	Education	0.51	0.40	3.09	0.44	0.53	0.70	0.48	-0.22	-0.05
Q	Human health and social work	0.95	0.93	2.12	1.23	1.10	0.80	0.93	0.13	-0.17
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	0.63	0.76	0.55	0.67	0.79	0.43	0.80	0.37	0.01
All Sectors		1.50	1.61	2.02	1.56	1.70	1.36	1.60	0.24	-0.10
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		1.61	1.79	1.71	1.68	1.84	1.42	1.74	0.32	-0.10
Public sector³		1.14	1.03	3.07	1.18	1.27	1.15	1.14	-0.01	-0.13
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		1.08	1.46	1.15	1.14	1.19	0.74	1.15	0.41	-0.04
50-250 employees		1.50	1.53	1.48	1.44	1.58	1.07	1.46	0.39	-0.12
Greater than 250 employees		1.74	1.74	2.69	1.84	2.01	1.77	1.87	0.10	-0.14
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 €36.70 across all economic sectors in Q4 2025. Information & Communication had the highest average hourly total labour costs at €59.53, followed by €49.52 in Education and €49.41 in Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities.

The sectors with the lowest cost of employing labour were the Accommodation & Food Services Activities sector at €20.07 and the Arts, Entertainment, Recreation and Other Service Activities sector at €27.17.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 12.9% over the three years to Q4 2025, from €32.51 per hour to €36.70.

	3 Year % Change
Admin & support service	21.1
Accommodation & food	17.9
Information and communication	17.5
Construction	16.3
Professional & technical	15.6
Wholesale & retail	14.4
Industry	14
All sectors	12.9
Arts & entertainment	12
Transportation	11.8
Health & social	10.4
Financial & real estate	9.2
Public admin & defence	6.3
Education	3.3

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

Table 6a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	4.24	5.27	5.84	5.70	6.56	5.98	6.56	0.58	9.7	0.00	0.0
F	Construction	-0.42	2.63	3.37	5.33	4.25	4.03	4.25	0.22	5.5	0.00	0.0
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	1.58	3.32	3.69	3.95	4.15	3.89	4.30	0.41	10.5	0.15	3.6
H	Transportation and storage	0.32	3.18	4.03	4.62	4.35	4.33	4.60	0.27	6.2	0.25	5.7
I	Accommodation and food services	-8.27	-0.20	1.62	1.78	1.88	2.13	2.08	-0.05	-2.3	0.20	10.6
J	Information and communication	9.33	12.49	10.13	13.09	14.48	13.98	14.10	0.12	0.9	-0.38	-2.6
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	8.85	10.46	8.93	9.74	10.13	10.18	10.14	-0.04	-0.4	0.01	0.1
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	3.73	5.38	5.68	6.70	7.15	6.81	7.42	0.61	9.0	0.27	3.8
N	Administrative and support services	1.25	2.63	3.24	3.58	3.98	4.04	4.49	0.45	11.1	0.51	12.8
O	Public administration and defence	2.63	2.63	3.21	3.21	3.37	3.60	3.76	0.16	4.4	0.39	11.6
P	Education	3.47	3.86	5.08	4.84	5.20	5.25	5.06	-0.19	-3.6	-0.14	-2.7
Q	Human health and social work	2.00	2.64	3.26	3.21	3.45	3.59	3.75	0.16	4.5	0.30	8.7
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	-2.36	1.18	3.29	3.51	3.47	3.55	3.80	0.25	7.0	0.33	9.5
All Sectors		2.52	4.21	4.61	5.02	5.36	5.24	5.47	0.23	4.4	0.11	2.1
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		2.26	4.38	4.73	5.28	5.63	5.42	5.71	0.29	5.4	0.08	1.4
Public sector		3.34	3.65	4.20	4.16	4.50	4.64	4.70	0.06	1.3	0.20	4.4
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		-0.75	2.31	3.25	4.08	3.97	3.91	4.15	0.24	6.1	0.18	4.5
50-250 employees		1.95	3.65	4.23	4.31	4.76	4.54	4.75	0.21	4.6	-0.01	-0.2
Greater than 250 employees		4.63	5.50	5.51	5.79	6.28	6.15	6.39	0.24	3.9	0.11	1.8
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

Table 6b Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change	Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change	Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
B-E	Industry	0.47	0.51	0.46	0.53	0.58	0.33	0.55	0.22	-0.03
F	Construction	0.08	0.11	0.07	0.64	0.26	0.14	0.12	-0.02	-0.14
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	0.62	0.56	0.57	0.57	0.63	0.39	0.57	0.18	-0.06
H	Transportation and storage	0.07	0.09	0.10	0.09	0.12	0.11	0.10	-0.01	-0.02
I	Accommodation and food services	0.03	0.03	0.02	0.03	0.02	0.02	0.02	0.00	0.00
J	Information and communication	3.60	5.36	2.92	5.16	5.84	5.18	5.00	-0.18	-0.84
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	0.61	0.92	0.62	0.78	0.67	0.68	0.61	-0.07	-0.06
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	0.33	0.40	0.46	0.47	0.72	0.50	0.76	0.26	0.04
N	Administrative and support services	0.34	0.15	0.16	0.36	0.43	0.38	0.61	0.23	0.18
O	Public administration and defence	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.01
P	Education	0.00	0.00	0.06	0.05	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.01
Q	Human health and social work	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.02	0.02	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.00
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	0.16	0.19	0.20	0.25	0.27	0.15	0.26	0.11	-0.01
All Sectors		0.45	0.57	0.40	0.59	0.63	0.50	0.55	0.05	-0.08
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		0.58	0.74	0.52	0.75	0.83	0.64	0.71	0.07	-0.12
Public sector		0.01	0.02	0.00	0.01	0.02	0.03	0.03	0.00	0.01
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		0.15	0.13	0.15	0.27	0.20	0.16	0.16	0.00	-0.04
50-250 employees		0.31	0.34	0.25	0.34	0.35	0.29	0.31	0.02	-0.04
Greater than 250 employees		0.66	0.91	0.60	0.84	0.96	0.74	0.82	0.08	-0.14
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

Table 6c Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	28.97	30.79	32.59	33.68	36.05	35.13	37.16	2.03	5.8	1.11	3.1
F	Construction	22.85	26.38	28.38	30.91	32.54	31.36	33.00	1.64	5.2	0.46	1.4
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	21.96	24.52	25.20	26.41	27.89	27.27	28.83	1.56	5.7	0.94	3.4
H	Transportation and storage	22.34	25.66	27.99	27.98	30.13	29.74	31.29	1.55	5.2	1.16	3.8
I	Accommodation and food services	7.39	14.74	17.03	17.99	18.83	19.87	20.07	0.20	1.0	1.24	6.6
J	Information and communication	44.68	49.73	50.67	55.16	59.44	59.21	59.53	0.32	0.5	0.09	0.2
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	42.73	45.64	45.23	47.54	48.61	48.51	49.41	0.90	1.9	0.80	1.6
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	33.38	36.21	37.25	39.79	41.36	41.36	43.05	1.69	4.1	1.69	4.1
N	Administrative and support services	21.69	23.87	25.02	26.75	28.59	29.01	30.29	1.28	4.4	1.70	5.9
O	Public administration and defence	29.68	30.83	35.13	34.33	35.68	36.72	37.34	0.62	1.7	1.66	4.7
P	Education	40.92	42.51	47.93	46.25	48.57	51.15	49.52	-1.63	-3.2	0.95	2.0
Q	Human health and social work	26.37	27.44	30.99	30.94	32.49	33.89	34.20	0.31	0.9	1.71	5.3
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	17.17	21.77	24.26	25.65	26.26	26.74	27.17	0.43	1.6	0.91	3.5
All Sectors		28.09	30.51	32.51	33.47	35.54	35.59	36.70	1.11	3.1	1.16	3.3
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		26.09	28.99	30.34	31.77	33.66	33.38	34.61	1.23	3.7	0.95	2.8
Public sector		34.55	35.59	39.90	39.26	41.58	42.91	43.37	0.46	1.1	1.79	4.3
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		20.65	24.52	26.14	28.22	29.72	29.56	31.05	1.49	5.0	1.33	4.5
50-250 employees		26.09	28.06	29.52	30.07	32.16	31.23	32.14	0.91	2.9	-0.02	-0.1
Greater than 250 employees		33.13	34.80	37.14	37.55	39.68	40.15	41.11	0.96	2.4	1.43	3.6
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 Q4 2025, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter was 1.3%, down 0.1% from the end of Q3 2025.

The highest job vacancy rates in Q4 2025 were 5.7% in the Public Administration & Defence sector, followed by 2.5% in the Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities sector.

There were 30,200 job vacancies, (rounded to the nearest 100), at the end of Q4 2025, an increase of 3,300 from the 26,900 vacancies in Q4 2024.

X-axis label	Job Vacancy Rate
Q418	0.9
Q119	1.2
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	1.3

Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4
B-E	Industry	225,300	233,400	245,800	256,300	264,800	259,400	270,100	287,700	284,500
F	Construction	107,300	114,400	107,300	126,200	129,000	125,400	136,700	137,000	148,300
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	312,400	311,300	325,700	312,700	326,300	348,500	333,400	331,500	328,200
H	Transportation and storage	79,100	84,500	84,000	83,800	93,600	89,800	96,000	107,000	104,900
I	Accommodation and food services	182,200	184,700	132,800	166,200	175,700	190,300	188,800	194,300	190,600
J	Information and communication	73,100	79,200	87,800	110,000	106,700	105,400	114,800	114,200	106,900
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	91,000	99,000	104,600	116,900	118,100	115,300	124,200	122,100	127,700
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	94,800	100,400	103,000	128,100	122,700	139,600	142,800	146,400	132,600
N	Administrative and support services	108,800	107,800	78,000	93,800	108,000	103,500	94,700	100,000	93,100
O	Public administration and defence	130,800	143,000	149,900	165,500	170,900	173,100	182,700	173,400	179,400
P	Education	166,700	178,800	182,900	198,000	192,900	214,300	221,600	218,100	241,200
Q	Human health and social work	251,900	255,700	251,900	281,300	293,300	312,100	327,000	328,500	332,600
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	55,400	55,000	45,900	53,200	52,200	57,000	55,000	55,200	54,600
All Sectors		1,878,600	1,947,200	1,899,700	2,092,100	2,154,300	2,233,500	2,287,800	2,315,400	2,324,600
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		1,475,300	1,535,500	1,484,700	1,666,100	1,708,200	1,787,800	1,830,300	1,856,300	1,859,700
Public sector		403,300	411,800	414,900	426,000	446,100	445,700	457,500	459,100	464,900
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

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

Public Sector

Average weekly earnings increased by 3.7% across the public sector in the year to Q4 2025, rising from €1,186.72 to €1,230.11.

An Garda Síochána had the highest average weekly earnings and average weekly paid hours in Q4 2025 in the public sector at €1,558.72 and 41.2 hours respectively. The highest average hourly earnings in this period were €51.22 in the Education sector.

FALSE

	Q4 2024	Q4 2025
Civil service	1128.49	1168.88
Defence	1104.33	1167.79
Garda Siochana	1543.44	1558.72
Education	1203.17	1260.15
Regional bodies	1035.52	1043.33
Health	1188.67	1231.54
Semi-state	1224.55	1265.21
All public sector	1186.72	1230.11

	Q4 2024	Q4 2025
Civil service	52800	55000
Defence	7900	8000
Garda Siochana	14500	15000
Education	109600	109800
Regional bodies	38200	39500
Health	168500	169000
Semi-state	66000	68500

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

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

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

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

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

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 Q3 2025			Final Q3 2025			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	€	€	hours
B-E	Industry	1,119.77	29.38	38.1	1,114.62	29.15	38.2	-0.5	-0.8	0.3
F	Construction	1,030.60	27.77	37.1	1,007.50	27.33	36.9	-2.2	-1.6	-0.5
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	740.30	23.33	31.7	727.74	23.38	31.1	-1.7	0.2	-1.9
H	Transportation and storage	930.63	25.56	36.4	928.79	25.42	36.5	-0.2	-0.5	0.3
I	Accommodation and food services	481.63	17.79	27.1	478.26	17.74	27.0	-0.7	-0.3	-0.4
J	Information and communication	1,697.69	45.57	37.3	1,690.87	45.24	37.4	-0.4	-0.7	0.3
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	1,402.64	39.03	35.9	1,379.47	38.33	36.0	-1.7	-1.8	0.3
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	1,203.37	34.87	34.5	1,194.44	34.55	34.6	-0.7	-0.9	0.3
N	Administrative and support services	770.56	25.04	30.8	772.06	24.97	30.9	0.2	-0.3	0.3
O	Public administration and defence	1,188.70	33.10	35.9	1,188.52	33.12	35.9	0.0	0.1	0.0
P	Education	1,102.34	45.49	24.2	1,097.92	45.91	23.9	-0.4	0.9	-1.2
Q	Human health and social work	978.36	30.23	32.4	978.31	30.29	32.3	0.0	0.2	-0.3
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	681.22	23.45	29.0	663.69	23.19	28.6	-2.6	-1.1	-1.4
Total		1,003.81	30.48	32.9	996.10	30.36	32.8	-0.8	-0.4	-0.3
Public/Private Sector
Private sector		930.72	28.16	33.0	919.85	27.97	32.9	-1.2	-0.7	-0.3
Public sector		1,244.47	38.24	32.5	1,245.98	38.27	32.6	0.1	0.1	0.3
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		813.74	26.01	31.3	796.26	25.65	31.0	-2.1	-1.4	-1.0
50-250 employees		887.48	26.72	33.2	886.69	26.69	33.2	-0.1	-0.1	0.0
Greater than 250 employees		1,149.54	34.11	33.7	1,143.14	34.00	33.6	-0.6	-0.3	-0.3
¹See background notes.

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Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter - Preliminary estimates
Public sector sub-sector	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change		Annual change
Public sector sub-sector	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
Civil service	986.31	1,003.67	1,095.19	1,098.20	1,128.49	1,159.51	1,168.88	9.37	0.8	40.39	3.6
Defence	938.59	946.03	1,077.26	1,039.88	1,104.33	1,160.69	1,167.79	7.10	0.6	63.46	5.7
Garda Siochana	1,344.75	1,319.62	1,512.46	1,471.40	1,543.44	1,625.33	1,558.72	-66.61	-4.1	15.28	1.0
Education	1,038.59	1,045.56	1,159.40	1,117.45	1,203.17	1,275.65	1,260.15	-15.50	-1.2	56.98	4.7
Regional bodies	900.57	881.78	1,004.45	999.37	1,035.52	1,015.59	1,043.33	27.74	2.7	7.81	0.8
Health	1,003.80	999.14	1,102.69	1,107.86	1,188.67	1,282.51	1,231.54	-50.97	-4.0	42.87	3.6
Semi-state	1,049.89	1,064.25	1,177.46	1,169.15	1,224.55	1,251.29	1,265.21	13.92	1.1	40.66	3.3
Total public sector	1,021.27	1,023.27	1,133.91	1,119.37	1,186.72	1,245.98	1,230.11	-15.87	-1.3	43.39	3.7
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies	1,016.72	1,017.39	1,127.30	1,112.13	1,180.78	1,245.14	1,224.84	-20.30	-1.6	44.06	3.7
Semi-state by sub-sector
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies	1,040.66	1,055.43	1,191.43	1,147.01	1,188.47	1,266.46	1,258.95	-7.51	-0.6	70.48	5.9
Commercial Semi-state bodies	1,053.90	1,068.52	1,170.89	1,180.12	1,241.59	1,243.91	1,268.46	24.55	2.0	26.87	2.2

Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
Public sector sub-sector	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	Annual change
Public sector sub-sector	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Annual change
									%
Civil service	45,200	44,800	45,300	46,700	52,800	54,400	55,000	2,200	4.2
Defence	9,000	8,900	8,400	8,000	7,900	7,800	8,000	100	1.3
Garda Siochana	14,600	14,600	14,200	14,400	14,500	14,900	15,000	500	3.4
Education	111,800	113,100	111,100	112,700	109,600	107,500	109,800	200	0.2
Regional bodies	34,900	35,300	35,600	37,300	38,200	38,900	39,500	1,300	3.4
Health	142,200	152,300	171,900	163,600	168,500	168,100	169,000	500	0.3
Semi-state	57,200	57,000	59,500	63,000	66,000	67,400	68,500	2,500	3.8
Total public sector	414,900	426,000	446,100	445,700	457,500	459,100	464,900	7,400	1.6
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies	357,700	369,000	386,600	382,700	391,500	391,700	396,300	4,800	1.2
Semi-state by sub-sector
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies	15,100	17,000	15,700	16,600	18,300	19,000	19,000	700.00	3.8
Commercial Semi-state bodies	42,100	39,900	43,800	46,400	47,700	48,400	49,600	1900.00	4.0
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
	2023	2024	2025	2025	Quarterly change	Annual change
Occupation by NACE groups	Q3	Q3	Q2	Q3	Quarterly change	Annual change
	€	€	€	€	%	%
Managers, professionals and associated professionals
B-E	1,734.99	1,744.21	1,836.12	1,835.08	-0.1	5.2
B-N, R-S	1,579.73	1,651.34	1,720.24	1,719.51	0.0	4.1
O-Q	1,442.56	1,498.19	1,543.99	1,601.42	3.7	6.9
Total (B-S)	1,493.80	1,551.03	1,605.60	1,630.89	1.6	5.1
Clerical, sales and service employees
B-E	983.93	1,007.32	1,039.23	1,044.89	0.5	3.7
B-N, R-S	667.71	721.49	759.81	741.95	-2.4	2.8
O-Q	699.43	733.12	786.95	796.56	1.2	8.7
Total (B-S)	667.43	717.67	761.99	754.53	-1.0	5.1
Production, transport, craft and other manual workers
B-E	868.57	910.87	930.91	934.55	0.4	2.6
B-N, R-S	725.06	807.00	834.12	830.01	-0.5	2.9
O-Q	657.62	702.06	742.12	749.40	1.0	6.7
Total (B-S)	697.12	770.66	798.17	795.87	-0.3	3.3
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 Q3 2024	Preliminary Q3 2025	Final Q3 2025	Preliminary Q4 2025	Final Q3 2025	Preliminary Q4 2025	Final Q3 2024	Preliminary Q3 2025	Final Q3 2025	Preliminary Q4 2025
B-E	Industry	65.4	53.8	66.9	49.1	672	496	77.7	60.2	76.1	54.5
F	Construction	45.5	32.7	46.5	31.7	155	108	54.8	43.1	58.4	35.9
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	53.4	47.0	55.4	42.4	624	482	71.1	56.1	70.5	57.6
H	Transportation and storage	58.0	45.8	58.2	45.4	138	108	83.6	55.2	82.7	61.7
I	Accommodation and food services	49.1	50.1	55.6	44.9	436	350	63.3	54.3	61.2	45.5
J	Information and communication	74.9	58.4	71.4	52.6	302	226	86.0	70.1	86.8	66.7
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	75.3	62.1	74.0	58.3	270	217	90.5	76.4	86.4	74.7
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	63.1	54.5	64.7	53.9	319	269	72.2	62.9	71.9	70.3
N	Administrative and support services	50.9	44.9	55.3	44.2	275	221	65.0	45.9	62.9	53.3
O	Public administration and defence	86.8	75.4	82.3	78.5	116	113	94.8	89.9	92.9	89.4
P	Education	64.3	58.2	67.0	53.6	122	97	89.7	87.4	88.7	87.6
Q	Human health and social work	67.1	55.3	65.4	46.6	483	351	72.1	62.5	71.0	57.1
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	71.2	62.8	73.6	56.1	195	148	80.5	67.4	75.9	58.8
Total		60.8	52.1	62.3	47.9	4,107	3,186	78.5	66.0	77.2	64.9
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 Q3 2025 (Final) Q4 2025 (Preliminary Estimates)