SDG 8.5.1 Average hourly earnings of employees, by sex, age, occupation and persons with disabilities is published by the CSO and Eurostat.
Definition: In the UN SDG metadata repository the SDG 8.5.1 metadata document gives the definition as follows: this indicator provides information on the mean hourly earnings from paid employment of employees by sex, occupation, age, and disability status.
Earnings and Labour Costs Q3 2025 (Final) and Q4 2025 (Preliminary Estimates) show that average hourly earnings rose 3.4% to €31.22 in Q4 2025, up from €30.18 in Q4 2024.
Employees in the public sector had higher average hourly earnings than those in the private sector. In Q4 2025, average hourly earnings were €38.67 in the public sector compared with €28.90 in the private sector.
Employees in larger enterprises were more likely to earn more. Average hourly earnings in Q4 2025 were €34.72 in firms with more than 250 employees compared with €26.91 in firms with less than 50 employees. See Table 5.1.
When irregular earnings, such as bonuses and money that is not paid regularly at each pay period, are excluded, average hourly earnings rose from €24.07 in 2020 to €29.62 in 2025.
Average hourly earnings (excluding irregular earnings) in the public sector were €37.53 in Q4 2025, in contrast to €27.15 in the private sector.
These earnings were higher in larger Enterprises, with average hourly earnings of €32.85 for enterprises of greater than 250 employees, compared with €25.94 for enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees, and €25.75 for enterprises with less than 50 employees. See Table 5.2.
According to the Structure of Earnings Survey (SES), Eurostat figures show that the mean hourly earnings for males were €28.65 in 2022 compared with €25.98 for females.
There are smaller differences when looking at median hourly earnings.
In 2022, median hourly earnings were €20.62 for males compared with €19.61 for females.
The difference in median hourly earnings is strongest for people aged 30-49 years, at €23.95 for males and €22.27 for females. See Table 5.3.
Mean hourly earnings were higher for males in all occupations for which data is available. This difference was most pronounced for Non-manual workers, where mean hourly earnings for male were €34.61 compared with €31.24 for females. See Table 5.4.
Median hourly earnings for males were higher in all occupations for which data is available.
This largest difference was for Manual Workers, where median hourly earnings for males were €15.66 compared with €13.81 for females. See Table 5.5.
The CSO publication "Income Analysis Using Administrative Data Sources 2022" reports on equivalised net administrative income by persons with long-lasting conditions or difficulties. Equivalised income allows for a more meaningful comparison of income across households by accounting for the number of adults and children living in the household, thus allowing for analysis at an individualised level. Details of the equivalence scale applied and adjustment are in the Background Notes of the aforementioned publication.
People with blindness or vision impairment had the highest median equivalised net administrative income of those with difficulty to any extent at €24,398 per person in 2022.
The lowest median equivalised net administrative income for those with long-lasting conditions or difficulty to any extent was €20,585 for persons with difficulty going outside the home. See Table 5.6 and Figure 5.1.
| Disability | Median Earned Income |
|---|---|
| Blindness or vision impairment | 24398 |
| Deafness or hearing impairment | 23472 |
| Basic physical activities | 20985 |
| An intellectual disability | 21967 |
| Learning, remembering or concentrating | 22435 |
| Psychological or emotional condition or a mental health issue | 23067 |
| Pain, breathing or any other chronic illness or condition | 22810 |
| Difficulty dressing, bathing or getting around inside the home | 20902 |
| Difficulty going outside the home | 20585 |
| Difficulty working at a job or business or attending school or college | 21384 |
| Difficulty participating in other activities | 21728 |
SDG 8.5.2 Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities is published by the CSO, Labour Force Survey and the Monthly Unemployment release. The Census of Population 2022 provides data on labour force participation rates for persons with a disability.
Definition: In the UN SDG metadata repository the SDG 8.5.2 metadata document gives the definition as follows: the unemployment rate conveys the percentage of persons in the labour force who are unemployed.
Employment data recently published by the CSO is available from the Labour Force Survey Quarter 4 2025. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a household survey which provides quarterly statistics on employment and unemployment and is the official source of labour market estimates in the State. The primary classification used for the LFS results is the International Labour Organisation (ILO) labour force classification.
According to the publication, the labour force grew from 2.824 million in Q4 2023 to 2.961 million by Q4 2025. Over this time period, the number of people in employment grew from 2.706 million to 2.833 million.
There were more males in employment than females in recent years. In Q4 2025, there were 1.504 million males in employment compared with 1.329 million females.
The participation rate for males was 71%, higher than the rate for females of 60.8% in Q4 2025. The unemployment rate was also higher for males, at 4.4%, compared with 4.3% for females. See Table 5.7.
Employment Rate - (15-64 years age band) - The highest employment rate in Q4 2025 was 85.3% for those aged 45-54 years, followed by 84.6% for those aged 35-44 years. Young people aged 15-19 years had an employment rate of just 25.5%. Employment rates for females are higher than for males aged under 24, but higher for males aged over 24. The largest difference in employment rates by age group is for those aged 60-64 years, where the male rate is 14.1 percentage points higher than the female rate.
Unemployment Rate - (15-74 years age band) - The highest unemployment rate in Q4 2025 was 15.4% for those aged 15-19 years while the lowest was just 1.5% for those aged 65 years and over. Male rates of unemployment are higher than female rates, except for the age groups 15-19 years, 35-44 years, 55 - 59 years and 65 years and over.
Participation Rate - The participation rate for males at 71.0% was higher than the rate of 60.8% for females in Q4 2025. Male participation rates were above the female rates in all age groups, except those aged 15-19 years. Females aged 20-24 years had a participation rate of 72.5% compared with 76.7% for males. Male participation rates were 15.3 percentage points higher than the female rates for people aged 60 to 64 years. See Table 5.8.
According to the Census of Population 2022 Profile 4 - Disability, Health and Carers the highest labour force participation rates among people experiencing a long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent were recorded for those experiencing blindness or a vision impairment (44%) or a psychological or emotional condition or mental health issue (43%).
Highest participation rates for those with a disability was 50.1% for males and 39.4% for females for those with blindness or a vision impairment.
Males had higher participation rates than females for all difficulties. See Table 5.9 and Figure 5.2.
| Male | Female | |
| People with a disability | -44.2 | 35.6 |
| Blindness or vision impairment | -50.1 | 39.4 |
| Deafness or hearing impairment | -33.6 | 21 |
| Basic physical activities | -20 | 14.2 |
| An intellectual disability | -25.3 | 18.8 |
| Learning, remembering or concentrating | -30.5 | 22 |
| Psychological or emotional condition or a mental health issue | -44.3 | 41.8 |
| Pain, breathing or any other chronic illness or condition | -38.5 | 30.1 |
| Difficulty dressing, bathing or getting around inside the home | -12.3 | 8.6 |
| Difficulty going outside the home | -12.8 | 9.7 |
| Difficulty working at a job or business or attending school or college | -23.3 | 19 |
| Difficulty participating in other activities | -21.9 | 17 |
The CSO's Labour Force Survey publishes the unemployment rate for Ireland's NUTS 3 regions.
The South-West had an unemployment rate of 3.1% in Quarter 4 2025, the lowest unemployment rate of all regions.
The Border region was the region with the highest unemployment rate for this period at 5.1%. See Table 5.10 and Map 5.1.
The Monthly Unemployment figures show that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the 15-74 years age group was estimated to be 4.7% for males and females in March 2026. See Table 5.11.
SDG 8.6.1 Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training, data is available from information published by the CSO, Labour Force Survey.
Definition: In the UN SDG metadata repository the SDG 8.6.1 metadata document gives the definition as follows: This indicator conveys the proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training (also known as "the youth NEET rate").
NEET (Persons not in education, employment and training)
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a household survey which provides quarterly statistics on employment and unemployment and is the official source of labour market estimates in the State. The primary classification used for the LFS results is the International Labour Organisation (ILO) labour force classification. The latest annual data for Ireland for persons who are not in education, employment and training (NEET) is for 2024 and is sourced from the LFS. This data indicates 8.8% of persons aged 15-24 years in 2024 were classified as NEET.
Employment data
Employment data recently published by the CSO is available from the Labour Force Survey Quarter 4 2025. Young people aged 15-19 years had an employment rate of just 25.5%. Employment rates for females in the 20-24 years age group is 68%, marginally lower than the male rate of 70.5%.
Unemployment Rate - The unemployment rate in Q4 2025 was 9.8% for youths aged 15-24 years. The male unemployment rate of 10.1% was higher than the female unemployment rate of 9.4%, among youths aged 15-24 years.
Participation Rate - The participation rate for youths aged 15-24 years was 51%, with similar rates for males and females. See Table 5.12.
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