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Earnings and Labour Costs Q4 2025 (Final) Q1 2026 (Preliminary Estimates)

Average weekly earnings up 4.4% in the 12 months to Q1 2026

Online ISSN: 2009-5023

CSO statistical release, 26 May 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. 2.0 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 €1,074.61 in Quarter 1 (Q1) 2026, up 4.4% from €1,029.81 in Q1 2025.
Average hourly earnings rose by 4.0% to €33.13 in Q1 2026, from €31.86 in Q1 2025.
Average weekly paid hours were 32.4 in Q1 2026, up 0.3% from the Q1 2025 hours of 32.3.
The job vacancy rate at the end of Q1 2026 was 1.1%, a decrease of 0.2% from Q1 2025, and 0.1% lower than the rate recorded at the end of Q4 2025.
Average hourly other labour costs increased by 4.5% to €5.78 in Q1 2026, from €5.53 in Q1 2025.
The highest averages for hourly total labour costs in Q1 2026 were €62.65 in Information & Communication, €58.88 in Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities, and €50.98 in Education.
The Public Administration & Defence sector had the highest job vacancy rate at 3.5% in Q1 2026, followed by 2.1% in the Information & Communication sector.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (26 May 2026) published Earnings and Labour Costs results with Preliminary estimates for Quarter 1 (Q1) 2026 and Final estimates for Q4 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 2024. Preliminary estimates for January, February, March (Q1) 2026 show average weekly earnings were €1,074.61, up 4.4% compared with €1,029.81 in Q1 2025. Over the same period the Consumer Price Index increased by 3.0%.

Earnings and Hours

Average weekly earnings rose across 11 of the 13 economic sectors in the year to Q1 2026. The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly earnings in Q1 2026 was 7.7% in the Administrative & Support Services sector, followed by a rise of 6.7% in the Education sector.

Average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 4.0% to €33.13, increasing in 11 of the 13 economic sectors, while average weekly paid hours increased by 0.3% from 32.3 in Q1 2025 to 32.4 in Q1 2026.

Labour Costs

Average hourly other labour costs grew by 4.5% across all economic sectors to €5.78 in Q1 2026 from €5.53 in Q1 2025, while average hourly total labour costs increased by 4.1% to €38.92 in the same period.

The sector with the highest average hourly total labour costs in Q1 2026 was Information & Communication at €62.65. The lowest average total labour costs were in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, which recorded a rate of €20.39.

Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate in Q1 2026, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter, was 1.1%, a decrease of 0.2% from Q1 2025, and down 0.1% from the rate recorded at the end of Q4 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 Q1 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
Q1 2025	1,029.81	31.86	37.39	32.3
Q1 2026	1,074.61	33.13	38.92	32.4
Annual % change	4.4	4.0	4.1	0.3
	Seasonally Adjusted
Q4 2025	1,027.05	31.43	36.90	32.6
Q1 2026	1,033.59	31.99	37.73	32.6
Quarterly % change	0.6	1.8	2.2	0.0

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q1 2026 HLT (XLS 11KB)

Earnings and Hours

Average weekly earnings were €1,074.61 in Q1 2026, an increase of 4.4% when compared with €1,029.81 from one year earlier, according to preliminary estimates of the Earnings and Labour Costs quarterly release.

The largest annual percentage increase in Q1 2026 in average weekly earnings was 7.7% in the Administrative and Support Services sector, rising from €787.70 to €848.65. The second largest increase was 6.7% in the Education sector which rose from €1,062.45 to €1,133.29 over the year.

In the three years to Q1 2026, average weekly earnings rose by 16.0%. All sectors saw increases in average weekly earnings over this period.

Average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 4.0% to €33.13 in Q1 2026, while average weekly paid hours increased slightly from 32.3 in Q1 2025 to 32.4 in Q1 2026. Over the three years from Q1 2023 to Q1 2026, average hourly earnings rose by 16.0% from €28.55 to €33.13, while average paid hours have remained the same at 32.4 hours.

	3 Year % Change
Professional, scientific and technical activities	20.2
Human health and social work activities	18.1
Industry	16.2
All Sectors	16
Education	16
Construction	15.9
Administrative and support service activities	15.6
Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	14.2
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	14
Transportation and storage	12.8
Financial, insurance and real estate activities	12.8
Wholesale and retail trade	11.6
Information and communication	10.4
Accommodation and food service activities	10.4

	Q1 2023	Q1 2026
Industry	29	33.58
Construction	24.47	29
Wholesale and retail trade	22.25	25.14
Transportation and storage	23.58	27.32
Accommodation and food service activities	15.78	18.21
Information and communication	44.2	48.92
Financial, insurance and real estate activities	42.85	46.94
Professional, scientific and technical activities	31.77	37.23
Administrative and support service activities	23.18	28.65
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	30.21	34.08
Education	39.79	45.74
Human health and social work activities	26.71	31.02
Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	22.01	24.24
All sectors	28.55	33.13

X-axis label	Unadjusted	Seasonally Adjusted
Q119	24.06	23.38
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	26.37
Q122	27.47	26.59
Q222	26.76	26.74
Q322	26.23	27.04
Q422	27.9	28.02
Q123	28.55	27.62
Q223	28.19	28.18
Q323	27.84	28.62
Q423	28.44	28.64
Q124	29.96	28.97
Q224	29.75	29.74
Q324	29.23	30.02
Q424	30.18	30.45
Q125	31.86	30.78
Q225	30.79	30.8
Q325	30.36	31.15
Q425	31.12	31.43
Q126	33.13	31.99

X-axis label	Unadjusted	Seasonally Adjusted
Q119	32.1	32.4
Q219	32.6	32.6
Q319	32.7	32.5
Q419	32.4	32.4
Q120	32.3	32.3
Q220	32.2	32.3
Q320	32.6	32.5
Q420	33.1	32.7
Q121	32.1	32.7
Q221	32.6	32.7
Q321	33.1	32.6
Q421	32.9	32.7
Q122	32.3	32.8
Q222	32.6	32.7
Q322	33.1	32.7
Q422	32.4	32.5
Q123	32.4	32.5
Q223	32.4	32.5
Q323	32.6	32.5
Q423	32.6	32.4
Q124	32.5	32.5
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	32.5	32.6
Q126	32.4	32.6

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	2025	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	989.25	1,023.01	1,098.98	1,174.85	1,231.95	1,128.84	1,276.55	147.71	13.1	44.60	3.6
F	Construction	808.61	877.24	886.66	967.15	1,007.44	1,018.27	1,027.45	9.18	0.9	20.01	2.0
G	Wholesale and retail trade	624.30	653.44	663.18	697.01	733.28	742.39	739.95	-2.44	-0.3	6.67	0.9
H	Transportation and storage	756.57	820.92	849.84	861.57	899.94	972.82	958.76	-14.06	-1.4	58.82	6.5
I	Accommodation and food service activities	388.92	391.46	424.93	441.28	448.30	473.63	469.07	-4.56	-1.0	20.77	4.6
J-K	Information and communication	1,428.60	1,510.01	1,652.72	1,768.86	1,835.66	1,700.15	1,824.62	124.47	7.3	-11.04	-0.6
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	1,346.86	1,381.68	1,496.52	1,522.88	1,643.68	1,435.93	1,688.13	252.20	17.6	44.45	2.7
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	1,006.31	1,096.60	1,091.30	1,157.39	1,242.79	1,245.07	1,311.38	66.31	5.3	68.59	5.5
O	Administrative and support service activities	698.16	736.88	734.38	770.52	787.70	811.13	848.65	37.52	4.6	60.95	7.7
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	1,006.33	993.83	1,086.49	1,129.02	1,184.87	1,195.91	1,238.51	42.60	3.6	53.64	4.5
Q	Education	932.40	930.66	976.70	999.53	1,062.45	1,088.91	1,133.29	44.38	4.1	70.84	6.7
R	Human health and social work activities	781.29	813.52	853.93	901.55	951.78	972.08	1,008.43	36.35	3.7	56.65	6.0
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	594.84	629.94	608.45	645.33	723.05	701.65	695.00	-6.65	-0.9	-28.05	-3.9
All Sectors		860.51	887.26	926.05	972.20	1,029.81	1,011.81	1,074.61	62.80	6.2	44.80	4.4
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		803.21	843.03	872.52	918.41	970.17	942.33	1,007.19	64.86	6.9	37.02	3.8
Public sector²		1,038.28	1,026.29	1,106.80	1,150.91	1,223.89	1,226.41	1,277.27	50.86	4.1	53.38	4.4
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		658.87	696.36	716.16	758.96	799.66	806.43	835.39	28.96	3.6	35.73	4.5
50-250 employees		815.35	827.87	854.42	900.42	932.07	919.12	958.69	39.57	4.3	26.62	2.9
Greater than 250 employees		999.79	1,010.36	1,077.60	1,119.22	1,190.33	1,150.05	1,231.36	81.31	7.1	41.03	3.4
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 Q1 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	2025	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	26.58	27.45	29.00	30.92	32.32	29.78	33.58	3.80	12.8	1.26	3.9
F	Construction	23.99	23.68	24.47	26.35	28.13	28.05	29.00	0.95	3.4	0.87	3.1
G	Wholesale and retail trade	20.78	21.78	22.25	23.48	24.59	24.40	25.14	0.74	3.0	0.55	2.2
H	Transportation and storage	21.79	23.20	23.58	23.67	25.45	26.85	27.32	0.47	1.8	1.87	7.3
I	Accommodation and food service activities	16.11	15.17	15.78	16.97	17.80	18.01	18.21	0.20	1.1	0.41	2.3
J-K	Information and communication	39.13	40.92	44.20	47.09	49.91	45.26	48.92	3.66	8.1	-0.99	-2.0
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	39.22	40.06	42.85	43.64	46.67	39.91	46.94	7.03	17.6	0.27	0.6
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	29.59	31.68	31.77	33.53	35.62	35.11	37.23	2.12	6.0	1.61	4.5
O	Administrative and support service activities	22.38	23.53	23.18	24.21	25.76	26.34	28.65	2.31	8.8	2.89	11.2
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	27.72	28.53	30.21	31.13	32.71	33.54	34.08	0.54	1.6	1.37	4.2
Q	Education	37.64	38.99	39.79	41.03	43.13	44.96	45.74	0.78	1.7	2.61	6.1
R	Human health and social work activities	24.57	24.85	26.71	27.83	29.22	30.50	31.02	0.52	1.7	1.80	6.2
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	19.84	21.38	22.01	22.56	24.56	24.05	24.24	0.19	0.8	-0.32	-1.3
All Sectors		26.85	27.47	28.55	29.96	31.86	31.12	33.13	2.01	6.5	1.27	4.0
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		25.22	26.07	26.98	28.33	30.13	28.77	31.12	2.35	8.2	0.99	3.3
Public sector²		31.75	31.87	33.77	35.33	37.40	38.60	39.11	0.51	1.3	1.71	4.6
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		21.63	22.46	23.59	24.70	26.27	26.12	27.30	1.18	4.5	1.03	3.9
50-250 employees		25.43	25.65	26.19	27.83	29.07	27.71	29.66	1.95	7.0	0.59	2.0
Greater than 250 employees		30.27	30.61	32.06	33.44	35.60	34.72	36.91	2.19	6.3	1.31	3.7
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.

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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	2025	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change		Annual change
		hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	%	hours	%
B-E	Industry	37.2	37.3	37.9	38.0	38.1	37.9	38.0	0.1	0.3	0.1	-0.3
F	Construction	33.7	37.1	36.2	36.7	35.8	36.3	35.4	-0.9	-2.5	-0.4	-1.1
G	Wholesale and retail trade	30.0	30.0	29.8	29.7	29.8	30.4	29.4	-1.0	-3.3	-0.4	-1.3
H	Transportation and storage	34.7	35.4	36.0	36.4	35.4	36.2	35.1	-1.1	-3.0	-0.3	-0.8
I	Accommodation and food service activities	24.1	25.8	26.9	26.0	25.2	26.3	25.8	-0.5	-1.9	0.6	2.4
J-K	Information and communication	36.5	36.9	37.4	37.6	36.8	37.6	37.3	-0.3	-0.8	0.5	1.4
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	34.3	34.5	34.9	34.9	35.2	36.0	36.0	0.0	0.0	0.8	2.3
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	34.0	34.6	34.4	34.5	34.9	35.5	35.2	-0.3	-0.8	0.3	0.9
O	Administrative and support service activities	31.2	31.3	31.7	31.8	30.6	30.8	29.6	-1.2	-3.9	-1.0	-3.3
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	36.3	34.8	36.0	36.3	36.2	35.7	36.3	0.6	1.7	0.1	0.3
Q	Education	24.8	23.9	24.5	24.4	24.6	24.2	24.8	0.6	2.5	0.2	0.8
R	Human health and social work activities	31.8	32.7	32.0	32.4	32.6	31.9	32.5	0.6	1.9	-0.1	-0.3
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	30.0	29.5	27.6	28.6	29.4	29.2	28.7	-0.5	-1.7	-0.7	-2.4
All Sectors		32.1	32.3	32.4	32.5	32.3	32.5	32.4	-0.1	-0.3	0.1	0.3
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		31.8	32.3	32.3	32.4	32.2	32.8	32.4	-0.4	-1.2	0.2	0.6
Public sector²		32.7	32.2	32.8	32.6	32.7	31.8	32.7	0.9	2.8	0.0	0.0
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		30.5	31.0	30.4	30.7	30.4	30.9	30.6	-0.3	-1.0	0.2	0.7
50-250 employees		32.1	32.3	32.6	32.4	32.1	33.2	32.3	-0.9	-2.7	0.2	0.6
Greater than 250 employees		33.0	33.0	33.6	33.5	33.4	33.1	33.4	0.3	0.9	0.0	0.0
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 Q1 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	€	€	€
Q1 2019	771.64	32.1	24.06	3.69	27.75	755.53	32.4	23.38	3.67	27.13
Q2 2019	771.34	32.6	23.69	3.81	27.50	769.25	32.6	23.69	3.76	27.47
Q3 2019	769.19	32.7	23.54	3.77	27.31	783.97	32.5	24.20	3.91	28.01
Q4 2019	786.40	32.4	24.24	3.96	28.20	791.40	32.4	24.30	3.90	28.18
Q1 2020	800.00	32.3	24.76	3.86	28.62	799.27	32.3	24.02	3.83	27.97
Q2 2020	817.35	32.2	25.38	2.29	27.67	815.60	32.3	25.36	2.23	27.62
Q3 2020	795.24	32.6	24.39	2.70	27.09	828.78	32.5	25.13	2.86	27.81
Q4 2020	847.57	33.1	25.57	2.52	28.09	839.95	32.7	25.63	2.45	28.09
Q1 2021	860.51	32.1	26.85	2.68	29.52	846.46	32.7	26.03	2.65	28.83
Q2 2021	851.15	32.6	26.08	3.83	29.91	850.28	32.7	26.07	3.76	29.82
Q3 2021	838.56	33.1	25.32	3.53	28.84	850.70	32.6	26.11	3.71	29.63
Q4 2021	864.62	32.9	26.29	4.21	30.51	858.90	32.7	26.37	4.14	30.55
Q1 2022	887.26	32.3	27.47	4.23	31.70	868.74	32.8	26.59	4.18	30.93
Q2 2022	873.50	32.6	26.76	4.37	31.12	873.88	32.7	26.74	4.30	31.00
Q3 2022	869.30	33.1	26.23	4.13	30.36	884.49	32.7	27.04	4.32	31.22
Q4 2022	904.70	32.4	27.90	4.61	32.51	896.50	32.5	28.02	4.55	32.61
Q1 2023	926.05	32.4	28.55	4.60	33.15	908.35	32.5	27.62	4.54	32.28
Q2 2023	912.12	32.4	28.19	4.74	32.94	913.70	32.5	28.18	4.66	32.79
Q3 2023	907.10	32.6	27.84	4.66	32.50	919.91	32.5	28.62	4.87	33.45
Q4 2023	927.98	32.6	28.44	5.02	33.47	925.36	32.4	28.64	4.97	33.62
Q1 2024	972.20	32.5	29.96	5.10	35.06	964.78	32.5	28.97	5.02	34.08
Q2 2024	964.53	32.4	29.75	5.39	35.14	966.94	32.5	29.74	5.31	34.99
Q3 2024	956.56	32.7	29.23	5.07	34.29	974.99	32.5	30.02	5.28	35.29
Q4 2024	981.45	32.5	30.18	5.36	35.54	985.91	32.5	30.45	5.32	35.74
Q1 2025	1,029.81	32.3	31.86	5.53	37.39	999.20	32.6	30.78	5.44	36.29
Q2 2025	1,007.58	32.7	30.79	5.46	36.26	1,010.30	32.8	30.80	5.38	36.12
Q3 2025	996.10	32.8	30.36	5.24	35.59	1,020.20	32.6	31.15	5.45	36.64
Q4 2025	1,011.81	32.5	31.12	5.54	36.66	1,027.05	32.6	31.43	5.51	36.90
Q1 2026¹	1,074.61	32.4	33.13	5.78	38.92	1,033.59	32.6	31.99	5.67	37.73
¹Preliminary Estimates

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q1 2026 Table 4 (XLS 13KB)

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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	2025	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	23.45	24.06	25.05	26.41	27.67	28.05	28.71	0.66	2.4	1.04	3.8
F	Construction	23.52	23.35	23.97	25.95	27.56	27.22	28.48	1.26	4.6	0.92	3.3
G	Wholesale and retail trade	19.07	19.65	20.46	21.53	22.55	22.98	23.40	0.42	1.8	0.85	3.8
H	Transportation and storage	20.74	22.19	22.40	22.73	24.32	25.61	26.28	0.67	2.6	1.96	8.1
I	Accommodation and food service activities	15.78	14.78	15.31	16.41	17.02	17.30	17.70	0.40	2.3	0.68	4.0
J-K	Information and communication	30.46	32.35	35.15	37.14	38.83	38.71	38.40	-0.31	-0.8	-0.43	-1.1
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	32.32	32.35	34.45	35.60	36.85	37.54	38.63	1.09	2.9	1.78	4.8
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	27.15	29.06	29.55	30.55	31.73	32.76	33.38	0.62	1.9	1.65	5.2
O	Administrative and support service activities	19.62	19.95	20.56	21.78	22.94	24.46	24.91	0.45	1.8	1.97	8.6
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	26.46	27.24	28.77	29.80	31.25	32.30	32.59	0.29	0.9	1.34	4.3
Q	Education	37.45	38.72	39.48	40.76	42.82	44.48	45.43	0.95	2.1	2.61	6.1
R	Human health and social work activities	23.72	23.98	25.42	26.83	28.33	29.52	30.07	0.55	1.9	1.74	6.1
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	18.63	19.82	20.92	21.01	23.00	23.25	23.08	-0.17	-0.7	0.08	0.3
All Sectors		24.60	25.02	26.00	27.32	28.89	29.52	30.30	0.78	2.6	1.41	4.9
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		22.59	23.20	24.13	25.30	26.63	27.02	27.77	0.75	2.8	1.14	4.3
Public sector³		30.66	30.78	32.22	34.00	36.13	37.46	37.82	0.36	1.0	1.69	4.7
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		20.60	21.11	22.26	23.43	24.83	25.13	25.96	0.83	3.3	1.13	4.6
50-250 employees		22.94	23.12	23.89	25.14	25.97	26.07	26.64	0.57	2.2	0.67	2.6
Greater than 250 employees		27.41	27.65	28.76	30.12	31.91	32.84	33.48	0.64	1.9	1.57	4.9
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	2025	2026	Quarterly change	Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change	Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
B-E	Industry	3.13	3.38	3.95	4.51	4.65	1.73	4.87	3.14	0.22
F	Construction	0.47	0.32	0.51	0.40	0.57	0.83	0.52	-0.31	-0.05
G	Wholesale and retail trade	1.71	2.13	1.79	1.95	2.04	1.41	1.73	0.32	-0.31
H	Transportation and storage	1.05	1.01	1.19	0.94	1.12	1.24	1.03	-0.21	-0.09
I	Accommodation and food service activities	0.33	0.39	0.47	0.56	0.78	0.71	0.51	-0.20	-0.27
J-K	Information and communication	8.66	8.56	9.04	9.95	11.08	6.55	10.52	3.97	-0.56
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	6.90	7.71	8.40	8.04	9.82	2.37	8.30	5.93	-1.52
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	2.44	2.61	2.22	2.99	3.89	2.35	3.86	1.51	-0.03
O	Administrative and support service activities	2.76	3.58	2.62	2.43	2.83	1.89	3.74	1.85	0.91
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	1.26	1.29	1.44	1.33	1.45	1.24	1.48	0.24	0.03
Q	Education	0.19	0.27	0.31	0.26	0.30	0.47	0.31	-0.16	0.01
R	Human health and social work activities	0.84	0.86	1.29	1.01	0.89	0.98	0.95	-0.03	0.06
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	1.21	1.55	1.09	1.55	1.57	0.80	1.16	0.36	-0.41
All Sectors		2.25	2.44	2.55	2.64	2.98	1.60	2.83	1.23	-0.15
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		2.63	2.87	2.85	3.03	3.51	1.75	3.35	1.60	-0.16
Public sector³		1.09	1.08	1.55	1.33	1.27	1.14	1.29	0.15	0.02
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		1.03	1.35	1.33	1.27	1.44	0.99	1.34	0.35	-0.1
50-250 employees		2.5	2.53	2.3	2.69	3.11	1.65	3.03	1.38	-0.08
Greater than 250 employees		2.86	2.96	3.3	3.33	3.69	1.88	3.43	1.55	-0.26
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 €38.92 across all economic sectors in Q1 2026. Information & Communication had the highest average hourly total labour costs at €62.65, followed €58.88 in Financial, Insurance & Real Estate Activities and €50.98 in Education.

The sectors with the lowest cost of employing labour were the Accommodation & Food Services Activities sector at €20.39 and the Arts, Entertainment, Recreation and Other Service Activities sector at €28.35.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 17.4% over the three years to Q1 2026, from €33.15 per hour to €38.92.

	3 Year % Change
Administrative and support service activities	25.4
Construction	19.9
Professional, scientific and technical activities	19.8
All sectors	17.4
Accommodation and food service activities	17.2
Human health and social work activities	17.2
Transportation and storage	16.7
Industry	15.9
Information and communication	15.5
Wholesale and retail trade	15.3
Education	14.8
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	14
Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	11.3
Financial, insurance and real estate activities	10.6

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	2025	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	4.77	5.48	5.91	6.46	6.66	6.46	6.89	0.43	6.7	0.23	3.5
F	Construction	-0.70	3.30	3.38	3.59	3.98	4.57	4.38	-0.19	-4.2	0.40	10.1
G	Wholesale and retail trade	1.31	3.30	3.51	3.88	4.18	4.40	4.58	0.18	4.1	0.40	9.6
H	Transportation and storage	0.84	3.64	3.80	4.11	4.34	4.63	4.62	-0.01	-0.2	0.28	6.5
I	Accommodation and food service activities	-8.00	0.35	1.62	1.88	2.10	2.09	2.18	0.09	4.3	0.08	3.8
J-K	Information and communication	8.68	9.06	10.04	12.84	14.48	14.51	13.73	-0.78	-5.4	-0.75	-5.2
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	9.72	9.64	10.38	10.74	11.37	10.55	11.95	1.40	13.3	0.58	5.1
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	3.11	5.13	5.57	6.49	7.19	7.31	7.52	0.21	2.9	0.33	4.6
O	Administrative and support service activities	2.09	3.58	3.54	3.79	4.57	4.55	4.86	0.31	6.8	0.29	6.3
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	2.64	2.85	3.04	3.20	3.61	3.74	3.82	0.08	2.1	0.21	5.8
Q	Education	3.40	4.19	4.63	4.73	4.91	5.12	5.23	0.11	2.1	0.32	6.5
R	Human health and social work activities	2.08	2.77	3.06	3.25	3.41	3.73	3.88	0.15	4.0	0.47	13.8
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	-0.37	3.05	3.48	4.83	4.33	3.65	4.11	0.46	12.6	-0.22	-5.1
All Sectors		2.68	4.23	4.60	5.10	5.53	5.54	5.78	0.24	4.3	0.25	4.5
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		2.41	4.39	4.80	5.37	5.88	5.81	6.13	0.32	5.5	0.25	4.3
Public sector		3.47	3.74	3.94	4.22	4.41	4.70	4.77	0.07	1.5	0.36	8.2
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		-1.03	2.80	3.23	3.70	3.89	4.06	4.46	0.40	9.9	0.57	14.7
50-250 employees		2.66	3.85	4.35	4.78	5.29	4.92	5.44	0.52	10.6	0.15	2.8
Greater than 250 employees		4.79	5.09	5.43	5.95	6.42	6.47	6.49	0.02	0.3	0.07	1.1
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	2025	2026	Quarterly change	Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change	Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
B-E	Industry	0.43	0.40	0.51	0.60	0.64	0.55	0.52	-0.03	-0.12
F	Construction	0.10	0.12	0.12	0.24	0.23	0.19	0.27	0.08	0.04
G	Wholesale and retail trade	0.27	0.29	0.35	0.33	0.34	0.60	0.31	-0.29	-0.03
H	Transportation and storage	0.09	0.12	0.09	0.21	0.10	0.11	0.11	0.00	0.01
I	Accommodation and food service activities	0.02	0.02	0.01	0.03	0.03	0.01	0.02	0.01	-0.01
J-K	Information and communication	1.93	1.95	1.96	4.06	5.27	5.52	3.79	-1.73	-1.48
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	1.04	0.75	0.94	1.05	1.32	0.76	1.23	0.47	-0.09
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	0.28	0.24	0.37	0.67	0.89	0.76	0.83	0.07	-0.06
O	Administrative and support service activities	0.56	0.50	0.37	0.46	0.83	0.61	0.48	-0.13	-0.35
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.01	0.00	-0.01	0.00
Q	Education	0.00	0.01	0.04	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.00	-0.01	-0.01
R	Human health and social work activities	0.00	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.01	0.02	0.00	-0.02	-0.01
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	0.13	0.10	0.14	0.10	0.12	0.24	0.18	-0.06	0.06
All Sectors		0.33	0.31	0.35	0.52	0.64	0.59	0.50	-0.09	-0.14
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		0.43	0.41	0.45	0.67	0.83	0.77	0.66	-0.11	-0.17
Public sector		0.01	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.03	0.03	0.01	-0.02	-0.02
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		0.16	0.15	0.21	0.20	0.18	0.17	0.25	0.08	0.07
50-250 employees		0.42	0.35	0.34	0.50	0.57	0.37	0.49	0.12	-0.08
Greater than 250 employees		0.40	0.38	0.43	0.69	0.89	0.87	0.61	-0.26	-0.28
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	2025	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	31.35	32.93	34.92	37.38	38.99	36.24	40.47	4.23	11.7	1.48	3.8
F	Construction	23.29	26.98	27.85	29.94	32.11	32.62	33.39	0.77	2.4	1.28	4.0
G	Wholesale and retail trade	22.09	25.08	25.76	27.36	28.77	28.80	29.71	0.91	3.2	0.94	3.3
H	Transportation and storage	22.63	26.83	27.38	27.78	29.78	31.48	31.94	0.46	1.5	2.16	7.3
I	Accommodation and food service activities	8.11	15.53	17.40	18.85	19.90	20.09	20.39	0.30	1.5	0.49	2.5
J-K	Information and communication	47.81	49.97	54.23	59.93	64.40	59.77	62.65	2.88	4.8	-1.75	-2.7
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	48.94	49.70	53.23	54.38	58.03	50.46	58.88	8.42	16.7	0.85	1.5
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	32.71	36.81	37.34	40.03	42.81	42.43	44.75	2.32	5.5	1.94	4.5
O	Administrative and support service activities	24.47	27.11	26.72	28.00	30.33	30.89	33.51	2.62	8.5	3.18	10.5
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	30.36	31.38	33.26	34.32	36.31	37.28	37.90	0.62	1.7	1.59	4.4
Q	Education	41.04	43.18	44.42	45.76	48.04	50.08	50.98	0.90	1.8	2.94	6.1
R	Human health and social work activities	26.64	27.62	29.77	31.09	32.63	34.24	34.90	0.66	1.9	2.27	7.0
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	19.47	24.43	25.48	27.39	28.90	27.71	28.35	0.64	2.3	-0.55	-1.9
All Sectors		29.52	31.70	33.15	35.06	37.39	36.66	38.92	2.26	6.2	1.53	4.1
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		27.63	30.46	31.78	33.70	36.01	34.58	37.25	2.67	7.7	1.24	3.4
Public sector		35.22	35.60	37.71	39.55	41.81	43.30	43.88	0.58	1.3	2.07	5.0
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		20.60	25.26	26.82	28.40	30.16	30.18	31.76	1.58	5.2	1.60	5.3
50-250 employees		28.10	29.50	30.54	32.61	34.37	32.63	35.11	2.48	7.6	0.74	2.2
Greater than 250 employees		35.06	35.70	37.49	39.39	42.02	41.19	43.40	2.21	5.4	1.38	3.3
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 Q1 2026, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter was 1.1%, down 0.1% from the end of Q4 2025.

The highest job vacancy rates in Q1 2026 were 3.5% in the Public Administration & Defence sector, followed by 2.1% in the Information & Communication sector.

There were 26,500 job vacancies, (rounded to the nearest 100), at the end of Q1 2026, a decrease of 4,500 from the 31,000 vacancies in Q1 2025.

X-axis label	Job Vacancy Rate
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	1.2
Q126	1.1

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	2025	2026
NACE Principal Activity		Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1
B-E	Industry	232,700	232,900	252,100	259,300	269,600	261,900	267,700	284,500	281,100
F	Construction	106,300	112,900	100,700	128,000	127,000	132,900	138,400	148,300	153,500
G	Wholesale and retail trade	300,400	305,900	299,900	301,800	333,000	325,200	317,900	316,500	320,900
H	Transportation and storage	83,700	82,400	75,500	91,900	87,700	88,400	90,400	104,900	102,800
I	Accommodation and food service activities	181,200	176,800	102,300	168,900	175,600	182,300	192,800	190,600	176,300
J-K	Information and communication	73,900	79,700	89,000	107,300	108,800	109,100	119,400	106,900	107,900
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	95,000	102,300	105,300	120,100	117,300	116,700	133,000	127,700	127,900
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	98,500	106,100	104,000	120,800	123,800	148,300	141,300	132,600	131,000
O	Administrative and support service activities	108,700	109,000	80,100	101,400	110,700	106,300	106,500	93,100	95,900
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	134,400	140,800	152,200	167,000	172,100	175,000	182,900	179,400	179,400
Q	Education	168,200	179,000	192,900	198,100	197,400	210,600	233,700	241,200	244,400
R	Human health and social work activities	249,400	253,300	255,300	286,500	300,300	306,200	312,700	332,600	323,900
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	60,700	59,000	47,200	53,000	61,500	69,400	69,400	66,300	63,100
All Sectors		1,893,100	1,940,100	1,856,500	2,103,900	2,184,800	2,232,300	2,306,000	2,324,600	2,308,200
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		1,491,400	1,528,700	1,440,800	1,681,000	1,749,500	1,783,300	1,856,200	1,859,300	1,846,100
Public sector		403,600	412,400	416,500	424,000	435,300	449,000	449,700	465,300	462,100
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 4.4% across the public sector in the year to Q1 2026, rising from €1,223.89 to €1,277.27.

An Garda Síochána had the highest average weekly earnings and average weekly paid hours in Q1 2026 in the public sector at €1,736.86 and 45.7 hours respectively. The highest average hourly earnings in this period were €50.49 in the Education sector.

FALSE

	Q1 2025	Q1 2026
Civil service	1150.35	1221.1
Defence	1128.91	989.88
Garda Siochana	1626.82	1736.86
Education	1229.44	1294.2
Regional bodies	1039.66	1049.42
Health	1240.66	1302.57
Semi-state	1292.72	1295.31
All public sector	1223.89	1277.27

	Q1 2025	Q1 2026
Civil service	53300	54300
Defence	7900	6700
Garda Siochana	14700	15100
Education	108900	109800
Regional bodies	38400	35900
Health	165900	169900
Semi-state	60600	70400

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 A2.1 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter - Preliminary Estimates

Table A3 Preliminary data versus final data

Table A3 Preliminary data versus final data¹
		Preliminary Q4 2025			Final Q4 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	1,161.23	30.60	37.9	1,128.84	29.78	37.9	-2.8	-2.7	0.0
F	Construction	1,029.35	28.75	35.8	1,018.27	28.05	36.3	-1.1	-2.4	1.4
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	737.24	24.53	30.1	744.89	24.42	30.5	1.0	-0.4	1.3
H	Transportation and storage	978.46	26.69	36.7	972.82	26.85	36.2	-0.6	0.6	-1.4
I	Accommodation and food services	478.67	17.99	26.6	473.63	18.01	26.3	-1.1	0.1	-1.1
J	Information and communication	1,714.26	45.44	37.7	1,700.15	45.26	37.6	-0.8	-0.4	-0.3
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	1,422.89	39.27	36.2	1,435.93	39.91	36.0	0.9	1.6	-0.6
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	1,247.08	35.62	35.0	1,245.07	35.11	35.5	-0.2	-1.4	1.4
N	Administrative and support services	797.05	25.80	30.9	811.11	26.34	30.8	1.8	2.1	-0.3
O	Public administration and defence	1,191.33	33.58	35.5	1,195.91	33.54	35.7	0.4	-0.1	0.6
P	Education	1,080.60	44.46	24.3	1,088.91	44.96	24.2	0.8	1.1	-0.4
Q	Human health and social work	961.32	30.46	31.6	972.08	30.50	31.9	1.1	0.1	0.9
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	662.86	23.37	28.4	678.88	23.84	28.5	2.4	2.0	0.4
Total		1,011.88	31.22	32.4	1,011.81	31.12	32.5	0.0	-0.3	0.3
Public/Private Sector
Private sector		942.05	28.90	32.6	942.33	28.77	32.8	0.0	-0.4	0.6
Public sector		1,230.11	38.67	31.8	1,226.41	38.60	31.8	-0.3	-0.2	0.0
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		824.75	26.91	30.7	806.43	26.12	30.9	-2.2	-2.9	0.7
50-250 employees		906.00	27.39	33.1	919.12	27.71	33.2	1.4	1.2	0.3
Greater than 250 employees		1,149.69	34.72	33.1	1,150.05	34.72	33.1	0.0	0.0	0.0
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	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	2026	Quarterly change		Annual change
Public sector sub-sector	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Quarterly change		Annual change
	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
Civil service	974.80	904.93	1,053.48	1,109.07	1,150.35	1,178.86	1,221.10	42.24	3.6	70.75	6.2
Defence	970.61	990.54	1,031.31	1,056.59	1,128.91	1,180.25	989.88	-190.37	-16.1	-139.03	-12.3
Garda Siochana	1,297.70	1,387.93	1,495.70	1,569.22	1,626.82	1,556.34	1,736.86	180.52	11.6	110.04	6.8
Education	1,078.10	1,047.13	1,126.43	1,129.03	1,229.44	1,258.73	1,294.20	35.47	2.8	64.76	5.3
Regional bodies	897.42	888.08	948.50	973.85	1,039.66	1,045.94	1,049.42	3.48	0.3	9.76	0.9
Health	1,007.99	1,018.31	1,089.27	1,170.28	1,240.66	1,230.06	1,302.57	72.51	5.9	61.91	5.0
Semi-state	1,097.29	1,103.57	1,168.49	1,226.86	1,292.72	1,227.63	1,295.31	67.68	5.5	2.59	0.2
Total public sector	1,038.28	1,026.29	1,106.80	1,150.91	1,223.89	1,226.41	1,277.27	50.86	4.1	53.38	4.4
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies	1,029.56	1,014.78	1,097.64	1,139.65	1,214.31	1,226.22	1,274.49	48.27	3.9	60.18	5.0
Semi-state by sub-sector
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies	1,089.89	1,120.19	1,125.44	1,149.41	1,222.05	1,248.48	1,309.03	60.55	4.8	86.98	7.1
Commercial Semi-state bodies	1,100.90	1,096.33	1,189.39	1,265.64	1,334.17	1,217.12	1,289.30	72.18	5.9	-44.87	-3.4

Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
Public sector sub-sector	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	2025	2026	Annual change
Public sector sub-sector	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q1	Q4	Q1	Annual change
									%
Civil service	45,100	43,300	45,400	47,800	53,300	55,000	54,300	1,000	1.9
Defence	9,000	8,800	8,200	8,000	7,900	7,900	6,700	-1,200	-15.2
Garda Siochana	14,500	14,500	14,300	14,300	14,700	15,000	15,100	400	2.7
Education	111,700	111,800	112,600	113,200	108,900	109,900	109,800	900	0.8
Regional bodies	34,800	35,100	35,700	37,500	38,400	39,100	35,900	-2,500	-6.5
Health	144,600	153,900	158,900	164,900	165,900	168,900	169,900	4,000	2.4
Semi-state	56,800	56,600	60,100	63,300	60,600	69,500	70,400	9,800	16.2
Total public sector	416,500	424,000	435,300	449,000	449,700	465,300	462,100	12,400	2.8
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies	359,700	367,400	375,100	385,700	389,100	395,800	391,700	2,600	0.7
Semi-state by sub-sector
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies	15,600	17,300	16,400	17,100	17,000	19,300	19,500	2,500	14.7
Commercial Semi-state bodies	41,200	39,300	43,700	46,300	43,500	50,300	50,900	7,400	17.0
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	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change	Annual change
	€	€	€	€	%	%
Managers, professionals and associated professionals
B-E	1,725.29	1,770.59	1,835.08	1,823.15	-0.7	3.0
B-N, R-S	1,612.91	1,675.70	1,719.51	1,748.22	1.7	4.3
O-Q	1,428.54	1,512.80	1,601.42	1,584.12	-1.1	4.7
Total (B-S)	1,499.79	1,569.14	1,630.89	1,635.13	0.3	4.2
Clerical, sales and service employees
B-E	998.22	1,037.93	1,044.89	1,080.31	3.4	4.1
B-N, R-S	679.71	724.86	741.95	747.81	0.8	3.2
O-Q	692.64	749.77	796.56	779.43	-2.2	4.0
Total (B-S)	673.60	723.16	754.53	752.64	-0.3	4.1
Production, transport, craft and other manual workers
B-E	882.00	926.65	934.55	952.31	1.9	2.8
B-N, R-S	738.98	814.43	830.01	843.37	1.6	3.6
O-Q	650.12	709.70	749.40	756.59	1.0	6.6
Total (B-S)	707.09	777.60	795.87	808.05	1.5	3.9
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	Employee Response Rate %
NACE Rev. 2.0 Principal Activity		Final Q4 2024	Preliminary Q4 2025	Final Q4 2025	Final Q4 2025	Final Q4 2024	Preliminary Q4 2025	Final Q4 2025
B-E	Industry	67.3	49.1	63.3	638	79.8	54.5	74.6
F	Construction	44.3	31.7	43.7	145	55.3	35.9	55.6
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	56.0	42.4	53.1	589	71.7	57.6	68.6
H	Transportation and storage	59.7	45.4	55.6	133	84.3	61.7	80.9
I	Accommodation and food services	52.2	44.9	53.4	424	65.1	45.5	59.8
J	Information and communication	73.4	52.6	66.4	290	86.3	66.7	79.7
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	74.3	58.3	71.5	248	90.2	74.7	84.0
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	65.8	53.9	66.5	332	72.3	70.3	79.6
N	Administrative and support services	52.8	44.2	54.0	269	64.0	53.3	63.2
O	Public administration and defence	86.3	78.5	81.4	114	97.2	89.4	87.9
P	Education	66.3	53.6	64.5	120	92.8	87.6	89.8
Q	Human health and social work	65.2	46.6	64.2	490	71.0	57.1	80.8
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	72.5	56.1	72.3	206	81.6	58.8	79.9
Total		62.1	47.9	60.2	3,998	79.5	64.9	76.3
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.

Table A2.1 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
		Employer Response Rate %	Respondent Enterprises	Employee Response Rate %
NACE Rev. 2.1 Principal Activity		Preliminary Q1 2026	Preliminary Q1 2026	Preliminary Q1 2026
B-E	Industry	55.8	570	64.7
F	Construction	34.1	116	39.9
G	Wholesale and retail trade	49.7	560	63.8
H	Transportation and storage	46.7	114	79.6
I	Accommodation and food services activities	45.3	372	52.2
J-K	Information and communication	54.1	240	67.7
L-M	Financial, insurance and real estate activities	59.4	211	77.5
N	Professional, scientific and technical activities	53.3	272	67.5
O	Administrative and support services	49.7	251	48.9
P	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	74.6	106	90.3
Q	Education	55.3	109	88.4
R	Human health and social work activities	54.6	423	75.6
S-T	Arts, sports, recreation and other service activities	62.7	183	67.2
Total		52.1	3,527	69.5
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 Q4 2025 (Final) Q1 2026 (Preliminary Estimates)