Back to Top

 Skip navigation

Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: earnings@cso.ie Brian Cahill (+353) 21 4535173 Gerard Brett (+353) 21 4535313 Karen Desmond (+353) 21 4535512
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5023
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly

Q3 2015 (Final) Q4 2015 (Preliminary Estimates)

QuarterAverage Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly Paid HoursAverage Hourly Total Labour Costs
  € €Hours €
Q4 2014702.6122.0431.925.55
Q3 2015691.8121.4632.224.79
Q4 2015*712.7521.9432.525.45
     
Quarterly change %+3.0+2.2+0.9+2.7
Annual change %+1.4-0.5 +1.9-0.4
* Preliminary Estimates

Average weekly earnings up 1.4% in year to Q4 2015

Average weekly earnings by economic sector
go to full release

Preliminary estimates show that average weekly earnings were €712.75 in Q4 2015, a rise of 1.4% from €702.61 a year earlier. Revised average weekly earnings were €691.81 in Q3 2015 and showed an increase of 3.1% over the same period in 2014. See table 1. 

Other features of the preliminary results for Q4 2015 include:

  • Average hourly earnings were €21.94 in Q4 2015 compared with €22.04 in Q4 2014, representing a decrease of 0.5% over the year. See table 2.
  • Average weekly paid hours were 32.5 in Q4 2015, a 1.9% increase on those recorded in Q4 2014. See table 3.
  • Average hourly total labour costs stood at €25.45 in Q4 2015, a fall of 0.4% from the Q4 2014 value of €25.55. See table 6c.
  • Seasonally adjusted average weekly earnings in Q4 2015 were €702.29, an increase of 0.3% from the previous quarter. See table 4.
  • The job vacancy rate at the end of Q4 2015 was 0.8%, an increase from 0.7% at the end of Q4 2014. See table 7c.

 

Unadjusted average weekly earnings increase in 9 of the 13 sectors in year to Q4 2015

Across the economic sectors average weekly earnings increased in 9 of the 13 sectors in the year to Q4 2015. The largest percentage increase was recorded in the Administrative and support services sector (+9.9%) rising from €500.42 to €549.76. The Financial, insurance and real estate sector experienced the largest percentage sectoral decrease falling 4.3% from €1,076.12 to €1,029.58. See table 1.

Average weekly earnings in the private sector showed an increase of 1.1% from €641.99 to €648.99 in the year to Q4 2015. The public sector (including semi-state) average weekly earnings increased 2.2% from €910.98 to €930.67 in the same period. See table 1.

Over the 5 year period Q4 2010 to Q4 2015 average weekly earnings across individual sectors showed changes ranging between -7.0% (Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector) and +14.9%(Administrative and support services sector). See table 1 and figure 2.

 

Note: Average hourly Benefits in Kind (BIK) are included in a new table (Table 6b) introduced to the Earnings and Labour Costs release for Q4 2015. While these Benefits in Kind are considered to be an "Other Labour Cost" in the Earnings and Labour Costs release, they are accounted for as part of Earnings in Eurostat’s Labour Cost Index, Labour Costs Survey and Structure of Earnings Survey. The data now included in Table 6b therefore allows users to make more informed comparisons between these different data sources.

Revisions: Earnings and Labour Costs data have been revised from Q1 2008 to Q4 2015 and these revisions are reflected in both the Earnings and Labour Costs release for Q4 2015 and StatBank tables. These revisions are minor in nature and have been undertaken to standardise production and reporting methodologies in line with Eurostat best practice and do not change trends in the indicators.

 

Note: While there is no internationally agreed methodology for assessing the public / private sector wage gap, the CSO has published an analysis of the differential using the National Employment Survey (NES) for 2009 and 2010. This analysis took account of compositional differences between sectors, such as occupational mix, sectors of activity, gender balance, union membership etc. Using a variety of criteria and assumptions, the public sector pay gap was estimated to range from 6.1% to 18.9% for NES 2010. See analysis here and here.

 

 

 

5 year % Change
N14.9
J12.7
M10.8
B-E6
G5.7
H3.4
Total1.5
K-L0.8
I-1.1
O-1.7
P-2
F-2.4
Q-5.6
R-S-7
Total All Sectors K-L Financial, insurance and real estate activities
B-E Industry M Professional, scientific and technical activities
F Construction N Administrative and support service activities
G Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles O Public Administration and defence; compulsory social security
H Transportation and storage P Education
I Accommodation and food service activities Q Human health and social work activities
J Information and communication R-S Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities

 

 

Average hourly earnings decrease 0.5% to €21.94 in year to Q4 2015

Average hourly earnings decreased from €22.04 per hour in Q4 2014 to €21.94 in Q4 2015, representing a decrease of 0.5% or €0.10. Revised average hourly earnings increased 2.1% in the year to Q3 2015 from €21.02 to €21.46 per hour. Seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings showed a fall of 0.7% in the quarter to Q4 2015, decreasing from €21.81 to €21.66. See table 2, table 4 and figure 3.

Unadjusted SeriesAdjusted Series
Q10821.5321.47
Q20821.5121.45
Q30821.2121.77
Q40822.1721.99
Q10922.4422.16
Q20922.0222.07
Q30921.8922.23
Q40922.4222.13
Q11022.1121.95
Q21021.9521.99
Q31021.6421.87
Q41022.0721.91
Q11122.2221.94
Q21121.921.93
Q31121.5821.94
Q41122.0321.96
Q11222.1521.99
Q21221.9722
Q31221.821.96
Q41221.8921.88
Q11322.221.87
Q21322.0121.93
Q31321.3621.88
Q41321.7321.78
Q11422.1421.63
Q21421.5221.56
Q31421.0221.59
Q41422.0421.87
Q11522.2521.96
Q21521.8421.88
Q31521.4621.81
Q41521.9421.66

Average hourly earnings increased in 7 of the 13 main sectors in the year to Q4 2015. The largest increase was recorded in the Administrative and support services sector, increasing 3.5% from €16.62 to €17.20 per hour in the year. The Financial, insurance and real estate sector saw the largest annual fall in average hourly earnings to Q4 2015, decreasing 7.5% from €31.17 to €28.83 per hour. See table 2 and figure 4.

Q4 2014Q4 2015
B-E22.3322.2
F19.9620.04
G17.3617.61
H20.9620.61
I12.4612.36
J28.4129.23
K-L31.1728.83
M24.5125.03
N16.6217.2
O25.525.62
P34.3734.48
Q22.1821.95
R-S17.3817.07
All sectors22.0421.94

In the five years to Q4 2015 overall average hourly earnings decreased by 0.6% (€0.13) from €22.07 to €21.94. Across the sectors over this period average hourly earnings have increased in 6 of the 13 sectors. The largest percentage increase was recorded in the Information and communication sector (+10.4%) rising from €26.48 to €29.23. The largest percentage decrease in average hourly earnings over the same period was recorded in the Human health and social work sector (-6.7%) falling from €23.53 to €21.95.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees showed an annual decrease of 0.4% in average hourly earnings in Q4 2015, from €18.30 to €18.23. Enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees recorded an increase in average hourly earnings of 0.1%, from €19.86 to €19.87 over the same period. Results for enterprises with greater than 250 employees showed an decrease of 0.9% in the year to Q4 2015 with values falling from €25.38 to €25.14 in average hourly earnings.

Private sector average hourly earnings fell 0.7% from €20.20 to €20.06 in the year to Q4 2015, while public sector average hourly earnings decreased by 0.1%, from €28.29 to €28.26 in the same period.

 

Average weekly paid hours increase 1.9% in the year to Q4 2015

Average weekly paid hours increased 1.9% to 32.5 in the year to Q4 2015. Revised average weekly paid hours were 32.2 in Q3 2015 and showed an increase of 0.9% in the year. In the five years to Q4 2015 average weekly paid hours increased by 2.2% from the Q4 2010 level of 31.8. 

Seasonally adjusted average weekly paid hours have increased by 0.3% to 32.2 from 32.1 in the quarter to Q4 2015. See table 3, table 4 and figure 5.

Unadjusted SeriesAdjusted Series
Q10832.732.9
Q20832.932.9
Q30832.932.7
Q40832.532.4
Q10931.732.1
Q20931.931.9
Q3093231.8
Q40932.131.8
Q11031.131.8
Q21031.631.6
Q31032.131.7
Q41031.831.5
Q11130.931.5
Q21131.431.4
Q31131.931.6
Q41131.731.7
Q11231.531.7
Q21231.631.6
Q31231.831.6
Q41231.631.6
Q11331.231.6
Q21331.631.6
Q31331.731.6
Q41331.731.6
Q11431.331.7
Q21431.831.8
Q31431.931.8
Q41431.931.8
Q11531.531.9
Q2153232
Q31532.232.1
Q41532.532.2

The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly paid hours in Q4 2015 was recorded in the Administrative and support services sector (+6.3%), from 30.1 to 32.0 hours. The largest percentage decrease over the same period was seen in the Construction sector (-1.3%) from 37.9 to 37.4 hours.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees and with greater than 250 employees both showed increases in the year, with average weekly paid hours rising 1.7% and 2.7% respectively. Enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees saw average weekly paid hours fall by 0.3% in the year to Q4 2015. See table 3.

 

Average hourly total labour costs decrease by 0.4% in year to Q4 2015

Average hourly total labour costs decreased by 0.4% over the year to Q4 2015. The largest percentage increase in average hourly total labour costs was seen in the Information and communication sector, rising by 3.5% from €34.95 to €36.18 per hour. The Financial, insurance and real estate sector recorded the largest percentage decrease in average hourly total labour cost, decreasing by 5.6% from €38.88 to €36.69. Seasonally adjusted average hourly total labour costs decreased by 0.7% in the quarter to Q4 2015.

In the year to Q4 2015 the average hourly total labour cost in firms with less than 50 employees increased by 0.5% (from €20.74 to €20.84), while there was a 1.4% decrease for firms with 50 to 250 employees (from €23.34 to €23.01). Enterprises with 250 plus employees recorded a decrease of 0.8% in average hourly total labour cost over the same period (from €29.61 to €29.36). See table 6c.

The public sector average hourly total labour costs decreased by €0.01 in the year to Q4 2015, falling from €31.33 to €31.32 while the private sector recorded a decrease in average hourly  total labour costs of 0.6% from €23.84 to €23.70 in the year.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 0.5% over the five years to Q4 2015, from €25.33 per hour to €25.45. The percentage changes across the sectors ranged from -6.1% in the Human health and social work sector (from €25.92 to €24.34) to +13.2% in the Information and communication sector (from €31.96 to €36.18). See table 6c and figure 6.

5 Year % change
J13.2
N7.53
M7.37
G5.79
B-E3.91
H0.75
Total0.47
O-1.49
P-1.5
I-2.63
R-S-4.25
K-L-4.8
F-5
Q-6.1

 

Average weekly earnings increase 2.2% across the public sector in year to Q4 2015 

Average weekly earnings increased by 2.2% across the public sector in the year to Q4 2015. Six of the seven public sector sub-sectors had annual increases in average weekly earnings, with the Semi-state sector and Garda Siochána recording the largest rises of 3.7% and 7.6% respectively in the year to Q4 2015. The Defence sub-sectors showed a decrease in average weekly earnings in the year of 3.0%, from €832.44 to €807.19. See table 8a and figure 7.

Q4 2014Q4 2015
Civil service927.65928.16
Defence832.44807.19
Garda Siochana1142.021229.13
Education913.84932.64
Regional bodies831.98837.97
Health869.82889.64
Semi-state988.031024.44
All sectors910.98930.67

 

Annual increase of 1.6% in public sector employment in Q4 2015

The estimated number of persons employed in the public sector showed an increase of 1.6% over the year to Q4 2015 from 374,000 to 380,000. 

In the year to Q4 2015 the largest percentage decrease was recorded in Defence (-3.1%), a fall of 300 over the Q4 2014 figure. The largest percentage increase over the same period was recorded in the Health sector, increasing 2.9% from 118,600 to 122,000.

Over the five years from Q4 2010 to Q4 2015 overall employment numbers in the public sector fell by 24,100 (-6.0%) from 404,100 to 380,000. See table 8e and figure 8.

Q4 2014Q4 2015
Civil service38.238.1
Defence9.89.5
Garda Siochana12.812.8
Education110.8111.7
Regional bodies32.232.9
Health118.6122
Semi-state51.753

Table 8e contains estimates of public sector employment numbers by sub-sector within the overall public sector. Public sector employment is spread across a number of NACE economic sectors and includes Semi-state bodies in sectors such as Transportation and storage and Information and communication. Furthermore, while employment in the Public administration and defence, Education, Human health and social work sectors is for the most part comprised of public sector employees there is some element of private sector employment across these sectors.

 

Job vacancy rate increases to 0.8% in Q4 2015

The job vacancy rate at the end of Q4 2015 was 0.8%, increasing from 0.7% a year earlier. In Q4 2015 the Information and communication sector had the highest vacancy rate of 2.0%, followed by the Financial, insurance and real estate sector with a vacancy rate of 1.8%. The Transportation and storage sector had the lowest vacancy rate of 0.2% at the end of Q4 2015. See table 7c and figure 9.

The rounded number of job vacancies at the end of Q4 2015 was 13,800 representing a rise of 2,900 from the number of vacancies at the end of Q4 2014 and a decrease of 2,600 on the vacancies reported at the end of Q3 2015. See table 7b. 

Job Vacancy Rate
Q1081
Q2080.9
Q3080.7
Q4080.5
Q1090.4
Q2090.4
Q3090.3
Q4090.3
Q1100.4
Q2100.5
Q3100.5
Q4100.5
Q1110.5
Q2110.6
Q3110.5
Q4110.5
Q1120.6
Q2120.5
Q3120.6
Q4120.6
Q1130.6
Q2130.7
Q3130.7
Q4130.7
Q1140.7
Q2140.7
Q3140.8
Q4140.7
Q1151
Q2150.9
Q3151
Q4150.8

It should be noted that all earnings are gross amounts before deductions for PRSI, tax and other levies.  This is particularly relevant to the public sector since March 2009 when the pension levy was introduced. 

The terms of the Haddington Road agreement have implications on public sector earnings, for example, some public sector workers have increased hours resulting in a fall in hourly earnings.  For the full text of the agreement see the following link: http://per.gov.ie/haddington-road-agreement/  

Changes in the composition of employees in a given sector or group has an effect on the average levels of earnings and paid hours over time.  For example, if the proportion of part-time employees increases within a sector then it would be expected that the average weekly earnings and paid hours would fall in that sector even if the hourly pay rates were unchanged.  Also, estimated averages do not reflect differences in characteristics of the job or the employees, and since EHECS collects aggregate data from each enterprise it is not possible to correct for such differences using EHECS data.

Many public sector employees are paid on the basis of incremental scales. Recruitment, particularly at lower levels, to these sectors would generally result in a depression to average earnings.  The absence of recruitment has the opposite effect.  Earnings are inclusive of overtime and irregular earnings. The variability of these components can impact on trends over time.   The reduction in employee numbers across the public sector will also impact on average earnings.  Consideration to these factors should be given when interpreting results.

 

Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry815.41811.49823.92831.95856.82832.22864.09+31.87+3.8+7.27+0.8 
FConstruction768.35663.33704.14732.27755.61699.76749.79+50.03+7.1-5.82 -0.8
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles520.05517.35519.67533.93527.75531.50549.62+18.12+3.4+21.87+4.1
HTransportation and storage733.65724.07720.45756.21756.18747.39758.90+11.51+1.5+2.72+0.4
IAccommodation and food services325.15326.43320.40317.02325.78324.73321.51-3.22 -1.0 -4.27 -1.3
JInformation and communication953.78966.65995.421,004.101,031.691,070.661,075.03+4.37+0.4+43.34+4.2
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,021.31971.06972.75976.351,076.12977.361,029.58+52.22+5.3-46.54 -4.3
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities743.90828.37790.68818.31792.08796.67824.08+27.41+3.4+32.00+4.0
NAdministrative and support services 478.53499.87512.69487.49500.42520.03549.76+29.73+5.7+49.34+9.9
OPublic administration and defence954.13918.39926.45925.73921.54913.51937.89+24.38+2.7+16.35+1.8
PEducation839.19881.78828.14817.36805.55807.85822.51+14.66+1.8+16.96+2.1
QHuman health and social work728.45718.21695.54671.60679.14671.86687.98+16.12+2.4+8.84+1.3
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities511.39447.64459.07488.35487.60461.59475.49+13.90+3.0-12.11 -2.5
             
Total 702.27698.10692.30689.41702.61691.81712.75+20.94+3.0+10.14+1.4
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector629.47622.39623.06625.29641.99629.17648.99+19.82+3.2+7.00+1.1
Public sector¹917.06919.06921.42907.83910.98907.00930.67+23.67+2.6+19.69+2.2
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees561.13543.51543.60551.03553.72540.17560.90+20.73+3.8+7.18+1.3
50-250 employees644.35657.83654.58645.25648.60644.52647.44+2.92+0.5-1.16 -0.2
Greater than 250 employees826.91825.40824.87805.99831.44820.93846.38+25.45+3.1+14.94+1.8
             
¹ Average weekly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8a.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry21.7121.5521.9121.8722.3321.7022.20+0.50+2.3-0.13 -0.6   
FConstruction20.9618.5919.7320.3219.9619.2220.04+0.82+4.3+0.08+0.4
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles16.8617.0416.9417.4217.3616.9817.61+0.63+3.7+0.25+1.4
HTransportation and storage19.8319.9520.1521.4620.9620.2720.61+0.34+1.7-0.35 -1.7
IAccommodation and food services12.7112.4312.4812.2712.4612.0612.36+0.30+2.5-0.10 -0.8
JInformation and communication26.4827.1927.6227.5028.4129.3029.23-0.07 -0.2 +0.82+2.9
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate30.4629.0828.4128.7731.1727.8528.83+0.98+3.5-2.34 -7.5
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities23.5325.2124.8224.7524.5124.5825.03+0.45+1.8+0.52+2.1
NAdministrative and support services 16.0016.8416.4015.9616.6216.7017.20+0.50+3.0+0.58+3.5
OPublic administration and defence26.3026.0026.2425.4625.5025.2325.62+0.39+1.5+0.12+0.5
PEducation35.6936.3735.4734.3334.3734.3134.48+0.17+0.5+0.11+0.3
QHuman health and social work23.5323.6022.9122.3022.1821.9621.95-0.01 --0.23 -1.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities17.7716.3316.3117.1517.3816.5617.07+0.51+3.1-0.31 -1.8
             
Total 22.0722.0321.8921.7322.0421.4621.94+0.48+2.2-0.10 -0.5
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector19.7519.6219.6919.7820.2019.5620.06+0.50+2.6-0.14 -0.7
Public sector¹28.9629.1029.1828.2628.2927.9328.26+0.33+1.2-0.03 -0.1
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees18.4417.7817.9518.3218.3017.7018.23+0.53+3.0-0.07 -0.4
50-250 employees19.7420.2320.1519.8019.8619.5119.87+0.36+1.8+0.01+0.1
Greater than 250 employees25.3925.6225.4724.7225.3824.7525.14+0.39+1.6-0.24 -0.9
             
¹ Average hourly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8b.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  hourshourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
B-EIndustry37.637.737.638.038.438.338.90.6+1.60.5+1.3
FConstruction36.735.735.736.037.936.437.41.0+2.7-0.5 -1.3
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles30.930.430.730.730.431.331.2-0.1 -0.3 0.8+2.6
HTransportation and storage37.036.335.835.236.136.936.8-0.1 -0.3 0.7+1.9
IAccommodation and food services25.626.325.725.826.226.926.0-0.9 -3.3 -0.2 -0.8
JInformation and communication36.035.636.036.536.336.536.80.3+0.80.5+1.4
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate33.533.434.233.934.535.135.70.6+1.71.2+3.5
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities31.632.931.933.132.332.432.90.5+1.50.6+1.9
NAdministrative and support services 29.929.731.330.530.131.132.00.9+2.91.9+6.3
OPublic administration and defence36.335.335.336.436.136.236.60.4+1.10.5+1.4
PEducation23.524.223.323.823.423.523.90.4+1.70.5+2.1
QHuman health and social work31.030.430.430.130.630.631.30.7+2.30.7+2.3
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities28.827.428.128.528.127.927.9---0.2 -0.7
             
Total 31.831.731.631.731.932.232.50.3+0.90.6+1.9
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector31.931.731.631.631.832.232.40.2+0.60.6+1.9
Public sector¹31.731.631.632.132.232.532.90.4+1.20.7+2.2
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees30.430.630.330.130.330.530.80.3+1.00.5+1.7
50-250 employees32.632.532.532.632.733.032.6-0.4 -1.2 -0.1 -0.3
Greater than 250 employees32.632.232.432.632.833.233.70.5+1.50.9+2.7
             
¹ Average weekly paid hours by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8c.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 4 Earnings, hours and Labour Costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by other characteristics and quarter
 Unadjusted Series Seasonally Adjusted Series
QuarterAverage weekly earningsAverage weekly paid hoursAverage hourly earningsAverage hourly other labour costcAverage hourly total labour costs Average weekly earningsAverage weekly paid hoursAverage hourly earningsAverage hourly other labour costAverage hourly total labour costs
Q108704.8532.721.533.5025.03 705.0932.921.473.3824.89 
Q208706.5632.921.513.4024.91 705.6332.921.453.4924.91 
Q308697.6332.921.213.4224.63 707.5932.721.773.5325.07 
Q408721.2732.522.173.6025.77 713.1232.421.993.4925.47 
Q109710.7731.722.443.5926.03 710.5032.122.163.6425.75 
Q209702.6331.922.023.6525.66 706.7831.922.073.6725.80 
Q309700.0532.021.893.4925.38 705.7431.822.233.6425.82 
Q409719.1132.122.423.6426.07 706.0531.822.133.5525.78 
Q110687.1531.122.113.3325.45 692.4031.721.953.4325.26 
Q210693.7731.621.953.2725.22 697.0431.621.993.3325.25 
Q310694.1432.121.643.1124.75 694.5531.721.873.2825.20 
Q410702.2731.822.073.2625.33 692.3031.521.912.9425.05 
Q111686.8530.922.223.1425.36 690.2531.521.943.2325.06 
Q211688.6131.421.903.1425.04 690.7531.421.933.1625.16 
Q311688.2431.921.583.0824.66 690.9331.521.943.1025.12 
Q411698.1031.722.033.2925.32 691.3531.621.963.1025.05 
Q112697.0331.522.153.2425.39 692.7331.721.993.1925.08 
Q212693.0531.621.973.2925.26 694.1931.622.003.3225.35 
Q312692.6731.821.803.3125.11 694.3131.621.963.4325.60 
Q412692.3031.621.893.5725.46 693.1831.521.883.4525.20 
Q113693.0631.222.203.4525.65 692.0031.521.873.4325.44 
Q213696.1731.622.013.3125.32 691.3131.621.933.4025.29 
Q313677.4031.721.363.1924.55 690.2931.621.883.4025.07 
Q413689.4131.721.733.6925.43 688.6731.621.783.3925.17 
Q114692.8631.322.143.3625.50 687.7231.721.633.3725.10 
Q214685.4431.821.523.3124.84 685.7531.821.563.3424.97 
Q314670.9131.921.023.2324.25 682.4131.821.593.3424.80 
Q414702.6131.922.043.5025.55 697.6731.821.873.3825.29 
Q115700.6331.522.253.4425.70 699.0031.921.963.4525.35 
Q215698.6532.021.843.4325.28 699.0832.021.883.5025.35 
Q315691.8132.221.463.3324.79 699.9732.121.813.4825.35 
Q415*712.7532.521.943.5025.45 702.2932.221.663.4025.18 
*Preliminary Results
Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹²
NACE Principal Activity2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry20.4320.1220.5120.5120.8320.7920.87+0.08+0.4+0.04+0.2
FConstruction19.9918.2919.3419.7119.2218.9019.35+0.45+2.4+0.13+0.7
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles15.9116.1116.0016.3716.3516.2916.60+0.31+1.9+0.25+1.5
HTransportation and storage18.7718.6918.6419.8419.6319.5619.54-0.02 -0.1 -0.09 -0.5
IAccommodation and food services12.4912.2112.2212.0312.1711.8211.99+0.17+1.4-0.18 -1.5
JInformation and communication24.1125.1025.7025.3125.6726.5426.44-0.10 -0.4 +0.77+3.0
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate27.7427.2326.8726.6826.9726.9926.86-0.13 -0.5 -0.11 -0.4
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities22.3623.9823.7223.6623.0423.4623.56+0.10+0.4+0.52+2.3
NAdministrative and support services 15.2115.8015.4515.1415.9316.0216.19+0.17+1.1+0.26+1.6
OPublic administration and defence25.1924.9225.2424.4524.4624.2624.47+0.21+0.9+0.01-
PEducation35.1235.8134.8233.7833.8034.0333.98-0.05 -0.1 +0.18+0.5
QHuman health and social work22.3922.5021.8521.3521.2821.0521.05---0.23 -1.1
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities16.7615.8415.6316.3016.5916.2116.28+0.07+0.4-0.31 -1.9
             
Total 20.9320.9720.8320.6520.7920.6520.83+0.18+0.9+0.04+0.2
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector18.6518.6018.7118.7118.9118.8218.96+0.14+0.7+0.05+0.3
Public sector²27.7227.8927.8627.1227.1426.9027.10+0.20+0.7-0.04 -0.1
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees17.4717.0217.2517.4917.5517.2817.44+0.16+0.9-0.11 -0.6
50-250 employees18.7519.2019.2118.7718.8118.8118.87+0.06+0.3+0.06+0.3
Greater than 250 employees24.0824.3324.1123.4423.7123.6323.78+0.15+0.6+0.07+0.3
             
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 Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8d.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  
B-EIndustry1.291.431.401.361.500.911.33+0.42-0.17
FConstruction0.970.300.400.610.730.320.69+0.37-0.04
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.950.930.951.051.010.691.01+0.32-
HTransportation and storage1.061.261.511.621.330.721.07+0.35-0.26
IAccommodation and food services0.220.210.260.240.280.240.38+0.14+0.10
JInformation and communication2.372.091.922.192.742.762.79+0.03+0.05
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate2.721.851.542.094.200.861.97+1.11-2.23
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities1.171.221.101.091.471.121.47+0.35-
NAdministrative and support services 0.791.040.940.820.690.671.01+0.34+0.32
OPublic administration and defence1.111.081.001.011.040.971.15+0.18+0.11
PEducation0.570.560.650.550.560.290.49+0.20-0.07
QHuman health and social work1.151.101.070.950.900.920.90-0.02-
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities1.010.500.680.850.790.350.78+0.43-0.01
            
Total 1.141.071.051.091.260.811.11+0.30-0.15 
            
Public/Private Sector
Private sector1.101.020.971.071.290.751.10+0.35-0.19
Public sector1.231.211.311.141.151.031.15+0.12-
  
Size of Enterprise          
Less than 50 employees0.960.760.700.830.760.420.79+0.37+0.03 
50-250 employees0.991.020.931.031.040.700.99+0.29-0.05 
Greater than 250 employees1.301.291.361.281.681.121.36+0.24-0.32 
           
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.
* Preliminary Estimates 
Table 6a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter
NACE Principal Activity2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry4.414.634.725.025.124.534.94+0.41+9.1-0.18 -3.5
FConstruction2.842.392.472.552.732.412.58+0.17+7.1-0.15 -5.5
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles2.502.512.932.732.782.712.87+0.16+5.9+0.09+3.2
HTransportation and storage4.263.774.494.343.693.593.66+0.07+1.9-0.03 -0.8
IAccommodation and food services1.371.181.131.141.341.291.35+0.06+4.7+0.01+0.7
JInformation and communication5.495.775.9810.806.547.026.95-0.07 -1.0 +0.41+6.3
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate8.087.549.488.567.717.087.86+0.78+11.0+0.15+1.9
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities3.614.444.254.413.863.744.11+0.37+9.9+0.25+6.5
NAdministrative and support services 2.202.062.202.382.352.332.37+0.04+1.7+0.02+0.9
OPublic administration and defence1.871.882.012.052.092.132.13--+0.04+1.9
PEducation2.973.353.563.473.543.543.60+0.06+1.7+0.06+1.7
QHuman health and social work2.382.322.372.272.412.412.40-0.01 -0.4 -0.01 -0.4
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities2.482.372.172.522.492.412.31-0.10 -4.1 -0.18 -7.2
             
Total 3.263.293.573.693.503.333.50+0.17+5.1--
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector3.333.413.683.873.643.423.64+0.22+6.4--
Public sector3.052.933.223.093.043.023.06+0.04+1.3+0.02+0.7
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees2.392.232.592.522.432.392.61+0.22+9.2+0.18+7.4
50-250 employees3.223.463.253.533.483.113.14+0.03+1.0-0.34 -9.8
Greater than 250 employees3.883.974.424.544.234.044.22+0.18+4.5-0.01 -0.2
             
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 6b Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  
B-EIndustry0.210.280.300.180.200.200.24+0.04+0.04
FConstruction0.120.080.060.090.070.050.06+0.01-0.01
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.210.200.310.320.360.250.30+0.05-0.06
HTransportation and storage0.060.090.090.110.110.110.11--
IAccommodation and food services0.020.020.010.010.020.030.02-0.01 -
JInformation and communication0.290.660.621.091.041.631.77+0.14+0.73
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate0.610.330.660.280.350.770.29-0.48 -0.06
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities0.240.260.240.220.180.250.47+0.22+0.29
NAdministrative and support services 0.080.100.120.080.170.120.18+0.06+0.01
OPublic administration and defence0.010.010.010.010.010.010.01--
PEducation0.010.010.010.010.010.010.01--
QHuman health and social work0.010.010.010.010.010.010.01--
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.360.390.160.160.210.100.20+0.10-0.01
           
Total 0.150.170.200.180.190.220.23+0.01+0.04
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private sector0.200.220.260.230.250.280.30+0.02+0.05
Public sector0.010.010.010.010.010.010.01--
           
Size of Enterprise         
Less than 50 employees0.160.150.140.180.160.160.18+0.02+0.02
50-250 employees0.180.200.170.180.190.220.16-0.06 -0.03
Greater than 250 employees0.130.160.260.180.220.260.29+0.03+0.07
           
¹ Average hourly beneifts in kind (BIK) are a sub-component of average hourly other labour costs as set out in Table 6a. Eurostat consider BIK to be a part of Earnings rather than an Other Labour Costs.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 6c Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%
B-EIndustry26.1226.1826.6326.8827.4526.2327.14+0.91+3.5-0.31 -1.1
FConstruction23.8120.9822.2122.8722.6921.6322.62+0.99+4.6-0.07 -0.3
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles19.3619.5519.8720.1520.1419.6920.48+0.79+4.0+0.34+1.7
HTransportation and storage24.0923.7224.6425.8024.6623.8624.27+0.41+1.7-0.39 -1.6
IAccommodation and food services14.0813.6113.6113.4113.8013.3513.71+0.36+2.7-0.09 -0.7
JInformation and communication31.9632.9633.6038.2934.9536.3236.18-0.14 -0.4 +1.23+3.5
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate38.5436.6237.8937.3338.8834.9436.69+1.75+5.0-2.19 -5.6
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities27.1429.6429.0729.1528.3728.3229.14+0.82+2.9+0.77+2.7
NAdministrative and support services 18.2018.9118.5918.3318.9719.0219.57+0.55+2.9+0.60+3.2
OPublic administration and defence28.1727.8828.2527.5127.5927.3527.75+0.40+1.5+0.16+0.6
PEducation38.6639.7239.0337.8037.9037.8638.08+0.22+0.6+0.18+0.5
QHuman health and social work25.9225.9225.2824.5824.5924.3824.34-0.04 -0.2 -0.25 -1.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities20.2418.7018.4919.6719.8718.9619.38+0.42+2.2-0.49 -2.5
             
Total 25.3325.3225.4625.4325.5524.7925.45+0.66+2.7-0.10 -0.4
             
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector23.0823.0323.3623.6623.8422.9823.70+0.72+3.1-0.14 -0.6
Public sector32.0032.0432.4031.3531.3330.9531.32+0.37+1.2-0.01 -
             
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees20.8220.0120.5420.8420.7420.0920.84+0.75+3.7+0.10+0.5
50-250 employees22.9623.6923.4023.3423.3422.6223.01+0.39+1.7-0.33 -1.4
Greater than 250 employees29.2729.5929.8929.2629.6128.7929.36+0.57+2.0-0.25 -0.8
             
¹ Average 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.
* Preliminary Estimates
              
Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹
NACE Principal Activity200820092010201120122013201420152015
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
           
B-EIndustry221,100203,200202,200202,100195,300199,000200,000206,900205,600
FConstruction127,70082,00063,30066,50060,70059,40069,90077,60077,500
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles318,100278,000278,000276,100280,000275,200282,300279,100286,200
HTransportation and storage68,80063,40066,90062,70061,60062,20063,00062,50065,300
IAccommodation and food services141,000130,100122,600122,300125,100141,400142,700146,000149,700
JInformation and communication58,60054,90051,40055,30059,20058,80061,30061,50062,600
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate93,80094,80085,50090,40089,80084,90087,80085,50085,300
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities80,00072,80069,00067,00072,70081,50083,40092,40086,500
NAdministrative and support services 86,20074,70072,50077,70074,00074,30079,40082,10081,300
OPublic administration and defence119,600118,700114,900113,900106,300105,400104,900112,300110,300
PEducation137,200133,000135,100129,200129,600131,700137,500130,800134,900
QHuman health and social work210,200213,700218,800222,300223,500228,200226,300232,700232,400
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities50,80048,40048,50049,00047,10045,40044,90050,20048,000
           
Total 1,713,1001,567,7001,528,7001,534,5001,525,1001,547,3001,583,4001,619,7001,625,700
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private sector1,285,8001,158,0001,124,6001,142,9001,143,3001,170,8001,209,4001,243,4001,245,700
Public sector427,300409,700404,100391,600381,800376,500374,000376,300380,000
           
¹ It should be noted that the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is the official source of estimates of employment. The estimated trend in the number of employees refers to
QHNS employee estimates, but differs in coverage in certain ways, such as the fact that a person with two jobs could be counted twice in the table and the exclusion of the Agriculture,
forestry and fishing sector which is covered by the QNHS.
Table 7b Job vacancies by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter
NACE Principal Activity200820092010201120122013201420152015
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
           
B-EIndustry7006008001,0001,0001,0001,1001,3001,200
FConstruction300-100400200200200500300
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles1,3008001,1009001,0001,5001,6001,9001,300
HTransportation and storage200100200100200200600200200
IAccommodation and food services3004002003005004005001,200700
JInformation and communication5007007001,0001,3001,1001,1001,8001,200
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate6008001,1001,4001,8001,8001,6002,0001,500
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities2002004006007007008001,8001,200
NAdministrative and support services 5001009002007006006001,1001,300
OPublic administration and defence1,3005005004004007008001,0001,500
PEducation400300300400500500400800500
QHuman health and social work1,2006006007001,2001,8001,3002,3002,400
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities200100300100300200300400400
           
Total 7,8005,2007,2007,5009,70010,60010,90016,40013,800
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private sector5,3004,1006,2006,5008,2008,5009,00012,90010,200
Public sector2,4001,1001,0001,0001,5002,0001,9003,5003,600
           
* Preliminary Estimates         
Table 7c Job vacancy rate by economic sector and other characterisics and quarter
NACE Principal Activitity200820092010201120122013201420152015
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
  %%%%%%%%%
B-EIndustry0.30.30.40.50.50.50.60.60.6
FConstruction0.2-0.20.70.30.30.30.60.4
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.40.30.40.30.30.50.60.70.5
HTransportation and storage0.20.20.30.20.30.30.90.30.2
IAccommodation and food services0.20.30.20.20.40.30.40.80.5
JInformation and communication0.91.21.31.72.21.81.82.92.0
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate0.70.91.31.52.02.01.82.31.8
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities0.30.30.50.91.00.80.91.91.4
NAdministrative and support services 0.60.11.20.30.90.80.71.41.6
OPublic administration and defence1.10.40.40.40.40.70.70.91.4
PEducation0.30.20.20.30.40.30.30.60.4
QHuman health and social work0.60.30.30.30.50.80.61.01.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.40.30.50.30.70.30.60.80.8
           
Total 0.50.30.50.50.60.70.71.00.8
           
Public/Private Sector         
Private Sector0.40.40.50.60.70.70.71.00.8
Public Sector0.60.30.20.30.40.50.50.90.9
           
* Preliminary Estimates  
Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 %%
Civil service1,014.86946.87932.44924.16927.65898.61928.16+29.55+3.3+0.51+0.1
Defence836.80852.54844.84895.83832.44814.14807.19-6.95-0.9-25.25-3.0
Garda Siochana1,149.991,124.281,142.171,131.971,142.021,191.011,229.13+38.12+3.2+87.11+7.6
Education904.28943.61937.39920.98913.84925.16932.64+7.48+0.8+18.80+2.1
Regional bodies811.65815.05831.31830.74831.98814.10837.97+23.87+2.9+5.99+0.7
Health873.56872.44877.64851.99869.82853.06889.64+36.58+4.3+19.82+2.3
Semi-state1,006.29990.731,003.36994.88988.031,001.881,024.44+22.56+2.3+36.41+3.7
            
Total public sector917.06919.06921.42907.83910.98907.00930.67+23.67+2.6+19.69+2.2
            
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies903.80908.68909.08894.91898.46891.39915.34+23.95+2.7+16.88+1.9
            
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies1,031.86962.841,030.991,019.32961.34976.771,015.40+38.63+4.0+54.06+5.6
Commercial Semi-state bodies999.92999.05995.46987.99998.021,011.311,027.69+16.38+1.6+29.67+3.0
            
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8b Average hourly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 %%
Civil service26.7626.9426.9325.4725.5525.0125.48+0.47+1.9-0.07-0.3
Defence23.5023.9623.5724.9023.3222.9322.68-0.25-1.1-0.64-2.7
Garda Siochana27.4527.7227.9428.2328.2628.8229.31+0.49+1.7+1.05+3.7
Education37.8238.6839.3738.0837.8437.8538.34+0.49+1.3+0.50+1.3
Regional bodies25.2323.6324.0623.2923.4722.9523.56+0.61+2.7+0.09+0.4
Health26.3726.5526.5625.4125.3024.9925.12+0.13+0.5-0.18-0.7
Semi-state26.5127.7227.8727.2727.2927.4027.50+0.10+0.4+0.21+0.8
            
Total public sector 28.9629.1029.1828.2628.2927.9328.26+0.33+1.2-0.03-0.1
            
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies29.4029.3429.4028.4328.4728.0328.40+0.37+1.3-0.07-0.2
            
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.4630.5030.5229.1028.3128.3128.57+0.26+0.9+0.26+0.9
Commercial Semi-state bodies25.8427.0127.1726.7826.9427.0927.14+0.05+0.2+0.20+0.7
            
* Preliminary Estimates
            
Table 8c Average weekly paid hours by public sector sub-sector and quarter
Public sector sub-sector2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 hourshourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
Civil service37.935.134.636.336.335.936.4+0.5+1.4+0.1+0.3
Defence35.635.635.836.035.735.535.6+0.1+0.3-0.1-0.3
Garda Siochana41.940.640.940.140.441.341.9+0.6+1.5+1.5+3.7
Education23.924.423.824.224.224.424.3-0.1-0.4+0.1+0.4
Regional bodies32.234.534.635.735.535.535.6+0.1+0.3+0.1+0.3
Health33.132.933.033.534.434.135.4+1.3+3.8+1.0+2.9
Semi-state38.035.736.036.536.236.637.3+0.7+1.9+1.1+3.0
            
Total public sector 31.731.631.632.132.232.532.9+0.4+1.2+0.7+2.2
            
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies30.731.030.931.531.631.832.2+0.4+1.3+0.6+1.9
            
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies35.031.633.835.034.034.535.5+1.0+2.9+1.5+4.4
Commercial Semi-state bodies38.737.036.636.937.037.337.9+0.6+1.6+0.9+2.4
            
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8d Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter¹
Public sector sub-sector2010201120122013201420152015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 %%
Civil service26.3226.4226.4625.0024.9724.5724.90+0.33+1.3-0.07-0.3
Defence22.4122.9522.4723.8921.8922.1421.93-0.21-0.9+0.04+0.2
Garda Siochana24.1924.3624.7524.9024.9325.0125.05+0.04+0.2+0.12+0.5
Education37.2038.1338.6837.5337.2737.5537.80+0.25+0.7+0.53+1.4
Regional bodies24.2922.8623.2722.4122.6522.3422.76+0.42+1.9+0.11+0.5
Health24.8225.0124.9324.0323.9523.6223.81+0.19+0.8-0.14-0.6
Semi-state24.9326.0425.8925.6825.8026.1926.06-0.13-0.5+0.26+1.0
            
Total public sector 27.7227.8927.8627.1227.1426.9027.10+0.20+0.7-0.04-0.1
            
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies28.2328.2028.2127.3727.3927.0327.30+0.27+1.0-0.09-0.3
            
Semi-state by sub-sector           
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.2329.8530.1728.7427.9527.9127.99+0.08+0.3+0.04+0.1
Commercial Semi-state bodies23.9625.0724.7724.8625.0725.5925.40-0.19-0.7+0.33+1.3
            
¹ To calculate average hourly irregular earnings subtract values in Table 8d from Table 8b.
* Preliminary Estimates
            
Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter¹
Public sector sub-sector2010201120122013201420152015Annual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
 '000'000'000'000'000'000'000'000%
Civil service39.639.739.438.938.238.338.1-0.1-0.3
Defence10.310.19.69.79.89.59.5-0.3-3.1
Garda Siochana14.413.913.413.012.812.712.8--
Education115.0111.3111.3111.0110.8108.2111.70.90.8
Regional bodies35.235.034.033.032.233.032.90.72.2
Health134.2128.3123.2122.0118.6121.9122.03.42.9
Semi-state55.353.350.948.951.752.753.01.32.5
          
Total public sector404.1391.6381.8376.5374.0376.3380.06.01.6
          
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies348.7338.3330.9327.7322.3323.6327.14.81.5
          
Semi-state by sub-sector         
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies11.110.810.09.612.412.312.0-0.4-3.2
Commercial Semi-state bodies44.242.540.939.239.340.440.51.23.1
          
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 Table A1 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
Occupation by NACE groups201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q3Q3Q2Q3
              % %
Managers, professionals and associated professionals
B-E1,436.411,376.531,432.611,448.62+1.1+5.2
B-N, R-S1,240.141,216.311,248.481,281.91+2.7+5.4
O-Q1,065.011,087.361,087.721,097.91+0.9+1.0
       
Total (B-S)1,152.511,134.441,155.091,184.03+2.5+4.4
       
Clerical, sales and service employees
B-E754.97765.63752.87762.71+1.3-0.4
B-N, R-S440.94465.08443.76453.36+2.2-2.5
O-Q518.07534.60526.09543.31+3.3+1.6
       
Total (B-S)467.56492.23456.49467.08+2.3-5.1
       
Production, transport, craft and other manual workers
B-E620.23684.27675.14701.93+4.0+2.6
B-N, R-S495.29509.89498.38505.55+1.4-0.9
O-Q426.56427.53439.13419.84-4.4-1.8
       
Total (B-S)485.39499.66485.52489.61+0.8-2.0
       
1 These estimates have been generated using a sub sample of EHECS respondents and therefore caution is advised when
   interpreting these results. See background notes.
Table A2 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter1
NACE Principal ActivityEmployer Response Rate % Employee Response Rate % Total number of respondent enterprises in Q3 2015
Final Q3 2014Preliminary Q3 2015 Final Q3 2015Preliminary Q4 2015Final Q3 2014Preliminary Q3 2015 Final Q3 2015Preliminary Q4 2015
               
B-EIndustry63.756.263.952.885.875.583.073.7515
FConstruction46.240.947.537.771.566.272.263.4162
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles64.055.463.552.283.673.880.570.8635
HTransportation and storage53.553.160.148.986.486.289.176.9139
IAccommodation and food services53.847.554.342.368.462.970.060.3485
JInformation and communication66.862.066.357.484.882.185.377.7132
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate70.862.370.563.692.482.692.187.3117
MProfessional, scientific and technical activites61.555.963.251.574.668.580.172.2212
NAdministrative and support service activities64.855.766.358.285.877.987.277.0163
OPublic administration and defence90.693.196.286.298.497.499.797.018
PEducation71.967.272.962.392.189.092.284.493
QHuman health and social work76.970.777.466.993.289.293.186.1236
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities66.662.668.253.987.880.685.774.4190
   
Total 64.357.865.054.187.381.387.179.03,097
           
1 This 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 A3 Preliminary data versus final data1
NACE Principal ActivityPreliminary Q3 2015 Final Q3 2015 Percentage Change
Average weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hoursAverage weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hoursAverage weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hours
             
B-EIndustry833.4021.7538.3832.2221.7038.3-0.1 -0.2 +0.0
FConstruction700.2419.3136.3699.7619.2236.4-0.1 -0.5 +0.3
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles525.2616.8831.1531.5016.9831.3+1.2+0.6+0.6
HTransportation and storage753.3020.4136.9747.3920.2736.9-0.8 -0.7 +0.0
IAccommodation and food services327.0512.0527.1324.7312.0626.9-0.7 +0.1-0.7
JInformation and communication1,065.6129.2436.41,070.6629.3036.5+0.5+0.2+0.3
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate974.2828.0434.7977.3627.8535.1+0.3-0.7 +1.2
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities775.1423.9632.3796.6724.5832.4+2.8+2.6+0.3
NAdministrative and support service510.8216.9730.1520.0316.7031.1+1.8-1.6 +3.3
OPublic administration and defence909.3625.2436.0913.5125.2336.2+0.5-0.0 +0.6
PEducation803.8334.2923.4807.8534.3123.5+0.5+0.1+0.4
QHuman health and social work673.1522.0330.6671.8621.9630.6-0.2 -0.3 +0.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities463.7116.5028.1461.5916.5627.9-0.5 +0.4-0.7
          
Total 689.1821.4632.1691.8121.4632.2+0.4+0.0+0.3
           
Public/Private Sector           
Private sector626.5119.5532.0629.1719.5632.2+0.4+0.1+0.6
Public sector905.0227.9632.4907.0027.9332.5+0.2-0.1 +0.3
           
Size of Enterprise           
Less than 50 employees537.9017.6530.5540.1717.7030.5+0.4+0.3+0.0
50-250 employees640.7319.4832.9644.5219.5133.0+0.6+0.2+0.3
Greater than 250 employees819.4224.8233.0820.9324.7533.2+0.2-0.3 +0.6
           
1 See background notes.

Background Notes

Introduction

The Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS) replaced the four-yearly Labour Cost Survey, and also replaced all other CSO short-term earnings inquiries. The EHECS results are comparable across sectors and include more detail on components of earnings and labour costs than was previously available.

Legislation  

The survey information was collected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the S.I. No 140 of 2013 Statistics (Labour Costs Surveys) Order 2013.  The information collected is treated as strictly confidential in accordance with the Statistics Act 1993.  The survey results meet the requirements for Labour Costs statistics set out in Council Regulation (EC) 530/1999.

Business Register 

The CSO’s Business Register provides the register of relevant enterprises for the survey. An enterprise is defined as the smallest legally independent unit.

Business Classification

The business classification used for the EHECS is based on the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev.2). The NACE code of each enterprise included in the survey was determined from the predominant activity of the enterprise, based on information provided in this or other CSO inquiries.

Nace Classification

NACE Rev.2 is the latest classification system for economic activities, updated from NACE Rev 1.1. A major revision of NACE was conducted between 2000 and 2007, in order to ensure that the NACE classification system remained relevant for the economy.  The main changes that affected the release was the reclassification of some industrial enterprises from industry to services (principally in the software and publishing sectors) and the inclusion of air conditioning supply, sewerage, water management and remediation activities in industry.   See web link to NACE coder :-

http://www.cso.ie/px/u/NACECoder/NACEItems/searchnace.asp

Coverage

The  survey  results  relate  to  enterprises  in  the  Nace  Rev  2  Sections  B  –  E  (Industry),  F (Construction), G (Wholesale & retail trade: repair of motor vehicles & motorcycles), H (Transportation & storage), I (Accommodation & food services activities), J (Information & communication), K-L (Financial, insurance & real estate activities), M (Professional, scientific & technical activities), N (Administrative & support services activities), O (Public administration & defence), P (Education), Q (Human health & social work activities) and R-S (Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities) with 3 or more employees.  The data was collected at the enterprise level.

All enterprises with 50 or more employees and a sample of those with 3 to 49 employees are surveyed each quarter. The sample is based on the proportion of companies in each NACE 2 digit economic sectors in the 3 to 49 size classes (3 to 9, 10 to 19 and 20 to 49).

Earnings in the public sector are calculated before the deduction of the pension levy that was introduced in March 2009.

For Q1 and Q2 2011 temporary census field staff are included in all tables due to the large numbers involved.   

Data Collection

The survey is conducted by post and questionnaires are issued in the last week of the relevant quarter. Some returns are received electronically. All returns are scrutinised for accuracy. Where appropriate, firms are queried by post or telephone regarding incompleteness, apparent inconsistencies, etc. Information about the survey is on the CSO website and all questionnaires and instructions are available electronically there.

Differences with discontinued sources

The EHECS is not directly comparable with other discontinued short-term earnings surveys such as the Quarterly Industrial Inquiry (QII), the Quarterly Services Inquiry (QSI) and the Quarterly Earnings and Hours worked in Construction (QEC).  The main differences are:

The EHECS collects data on the entire reference quarter while the QII, QSI and QEC only collected data for a reference week in the quarter.

  •   Data on earnings and labour costs per hour is generally presented on the basis of hours paid and worked in the EHECS.  Data on earnings per hour was presented on the basis of hours paid (including paid leave)   in the QII.
  • The EHECS uses a standardised form for all NACE sectors with a standard occupational classification for all enterprises while the QII, QSI and QEC surveys had their own occupational classifications.  However the EHECS category “Production, Craft and other Manual workers” corresponds broadly to the “Industrial” category in the QII; the EHECS category “Clerical, Sales and Service Workers” also corresponds broadly to the QII category “Clerical and other office staff”; the QII category “Managerial and technical staff” is largely equivalent to the EHECS category “Managers, Professional and Associated Professionals”.
  •   The EHECS collects data for enterprises while the QII collected data for local units.
  •   Data on hours is collected for all categories of employees in the EHECS, while such data was limited to the industrial workers in the QII, non-managerial employees in the QEC and not collected at all in the QSI.
  •  The earnings data collected for the EHECS includes irregular earnings, irregular bonuses etc while these items were excluded from the QII, QSI and QEC which only collected data on regular earnings (including regular bonuses) and overtime.
  •   Non-labour costs such as employers PRSI, other social costs, benefit in kind etc., are collected for the EHECS but were not collected for the QII, QSI and QEC surveys.
  •  Data on employees in the QII, QSI and QEC was collected with regard to the reference week. In the EHECS employment data is collected with regard to the first and last day of the quarter.

 

Definitions

Employees

All full-time or part-time workers paid a specific wage or salary or who had a contract of employment are defined as employees.   Persons not working for salary e.g. family members, directors, partners, outside pieceworker’s etc., are not considered employees but other persons engaged.  These workers are included separately but not used in the calculation of derived variables.  All employment figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

Part-time Employees

Part-time employees are defined as those who normally worked less than around 30 hours per week.  These included persons who worked for some whole days per week as well as those who worked for part of the day each day.

Apprentices

Apprentices are defined as those whose wages/salaries are governed by the fact that they work either under an apprenticeship contract or as part of a training program.  They are included in the calculation of earnings and hours data.  They were also combined with full-time and part-time employees in determining the size group to which enterprises were classified.

Category of employees  by occupation

For some enterprises information was collected separately for three occupational groups. The three groups are:

1. Managers, Administrators, Professionals and Associate Professionals.

2. Clerical, Sales and Service workers.

3. Production, Transport workers, Craft & Tradespersons and other Manual workers.

Wages and Salaries

All wages and salaries payments are gross (i.e. before deduction of income tax and employees’ PRSI contributions and levies such as the public sector pension levy).  In the analysis, the total wages and salaries are divided into: 

  •   Regular earnings i.e. pay and allowances paid at each pay period, even if the amount may vary.
  •   Overtime, i.e. payments for working in excess of normal hours, usually paid at a premium.
  •   Irregular bonuses and premiums, pay and allowances not paid at each pay period, i.e. annual or quarterly bonuses etc.

Hours 

Weekly paid hours include total contracted hours plus overtime hours.

Other Costs

The following are the other categories of labour costs:

  • Statutory employers’ PRSI including the social security contributions for apprentices.
  • Other social costs; which encompass pension fund contributions, life assurance premiums, income continuance insurance as well as other employee-related payments paid by the employer.
  • Benefits in kind; which include private use of company cars, stock options & share purchase schemes, voluntary sickness insurance, staff housing and other free or subsidised benefits (e.g. canteen facilities,   childcare provision, health costs).
  • Other labour costs.
  • Redundancy payments.

Benefits in Kind

Benefits in Kind (BIK) are considered to be an “Other Labour Cost” in the Earnings and Labour Costs release and is included in the Other Labour Costs data reported in Table 6a of the release. Eurostat consider Benefits in Kind to be a part of Earnings rather than Other Labour Costs; this is reflected in Eurostat’s Labour Costs Index, Labour Costs Survey and Structure of Earnings Survey. Average hourly benefits in kind are detailed in Table 6b of the Earnings and Labour Costs release to ensure users can make the most informed comparisons between data sources.

Subsidies and Refunds

These are amounts received by firms under the various state schemes (IDA employment incentive scheme, grants etc.) as well as refunds from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) for sick and maternity leave.  These are deducted from the firms’ labour costs in the analysis.

Job Vacancies

Respondents are asked to provide the number of job vacancies in their firm as at the last working day of the quarter. A job vacancy is defined as a newly created post, an unoccupied post or post about to become vacant in the near future, where the employer is actively looking for (i.e. advertising, contacting employment agencies, etc.) and willing to recruit a suitable candidate immediately or very soon. The posts must be open to external candidates, although it may be filled by an internal candidate. Due to one off recruitments by individual firms and a low number of firms reporting vacancies, the job vacancies series can be volatile and should be interpreted with caution.  Job vacancy information is collected by the Central Statistics Office under EU regulation (EC) No. 453/2008. For more information on job vacancies please see the link below.

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/labour-market/job-vacancies

Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate (JVR) measures the proportion of total posts that are vacant, according to the definition of job vacancy above, expressed as a percentage as follows

Job Vacancy Rate = ( Number of job vacancies / Number òf occupied jobs + Number of job vacancies ) * 100

National Minimum Wage (NMW)

The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 became law on the 1st April 2000. Enterprises are asked to indicate the number of employees in receipt of the NMW at the end of each quarter.  A detailed guide to the Act is available from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at www.djei.ie. Employees earning less than the minimum wage due to age or training status are also included.  These rates do not apply to close relatives of the employer or apprentices other than apprentice hairdressers.

 

Derived Variables

Employment

The sum of full-time employees and part-time employees on the last day of the quarter plus the average number of apprentices engaged during the quarter.

Average Weekly Earnings 

Total earnings for the quarter divided by the average number of persons employed during the quarter divided by 13  (number of weeks in a quarter).

Average Hourly Earnings

The sum of regular earnings, irregular earnings, and overtime earnings for the quarter divided by total paid hours for the quarter.

Average Hourly Irregular Earnings

Total irregular earnings in the quarter divided by total paid hours for the quarter.

Average Weekly Paid Hours

Total paid hours for the quarter divided by the average number of persons employed during the quarter divided by 13 (number of weeks in a quarter).  Unpaid hours worked (including unpaid overtime) and unpaid leave are excluded.

Average Houly Other Labour Costs

The sum of other labour costs divided by total paid hours for the quarter. Other labour costs include redundancy payments, employers’ contributions to social security, other social costs, benefit in kind and other labour costs.  Subsidies and refunds received were deducted.

Average Hourly Total Labour Costs

Hourly labour costs are total labour costs divided by the total number of hours paid during the quarter.

Annual Data

Annualised results are available as a separate release, details of which are available on the CSO website.    

 

Methodology for production results

All enterprises with 50 or more employees are surveyed as well as a sample of enterprises which have between 3 and 49 employees inclusive. The classifications by size of enterprise are based on total persons engaged on the first day of the quarter.

Weighting

For enterprises with 3 to 49 employees inclusive, a weighting factor (the reciprocal of the sampling fraction) is used to weight the estimates to the total population for both employees and enterprises. The CSO Business Register forms the basis of the sampling frame used for weighting the sample data to the population.  Decay factors are calculated for each size class and sector to adjust the non-sampled element of the register for the respondent non-relevant enterprises.

Imputation

Imputation is carried out for non-respondents in the greater than 50 employees’ categories. Where an enterprise responded in the previous quarter ratio-imputation is used to estimate figures for the current quarter while for enterprises that did not respond in the previous quarter a stratum average imputation method is used to estimate the missing variables. These estimates are based on respondent enterprises of a similar size and activity.

Final Estimates 

After imputation, all enterprises with 50 or more employees are accounted for and included in the final dataset.  For those cells where a sample survey of enterprises is used (enterprises employing between 3 and 49 employees), the results are expanded using the grossing factors to cover the entire population for the relevant industries in the quarter.  Macro edits are carried out at this stage and any outliers are investigated and corrected. Coherence of the data is ensured by scrutinising quarter on quarter changes.

Interpretation of results

The series presented in this release and all estimates deriving from the EHECS survey are primarily of use as an indicator of trends in average earnings and paid hours of employees across different classifications. However, in interpreting the trends and in undertaking direct comparison of the average level of earnings of different groups of employees or sectors some caution in interpretation is warranted.

In the case of trends, changes in the composition of employees in a given sector or group has an effect on the average levels of earnings and paid hours over time. For example if the proportion of part time employees increases within a sector then it would be expected that the average weekly earnings and paid hours would fall in that sector even if hourly pay rates were unchanged.

In the case of direct comparison of earnings levels estimates are based on raw earnings levels. To get a true picture of differences in earnings levels of different employees comparisons should take account of differences in the characteristics of employees such as length of service, educational attainment level, nature of work  etc., none of which are available via EHECS.  The additional information available from the annual National Employment Survey (NES) allows for a more detailed analysis of differences in earnings levels and should be referred to by users seeking more detailed information on earnings determinants than is available from EHECS.

Seasonal Adjustment

To correct for typical seasonal patterns, the series presented in Table 4 have been seasonally adjusted. Since Quarter 1 2015 seasonal adjustment of earnings and labour costs data is completed by applying the X-13-ARIMA model, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Seasonal adjustment is conducted using the direct approach, where each individual series (average weekly earnings, average weekly hours worked, average hourly earnings, average hourly irregular earnings, average hourly other labour costs and average hourly total labour costs)  is independently adjusted for each sector.

As a result of the direct seasonal adjustment approach employed, it should be noted that the sum of any component series may not be equal to seasonally adjusted series to which these components belong. For example, the seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings and seasonally adjusted other labour costs will not necessarily add up to the seasonally adjusted average total labour costs.

The X-13 ARIMA method has the X-11 moving averages process at its core, but builds on this by providing options for pre-treating the series using a regARIMA approach for prior adjustment and series extension. In essence this methodology will estimate seasonal factors while taking account of calendar effects (e.g timing of Easter), outliers, temporary changes and level shifts.

All earnings series are updated quarterly with the entire seasonally adjusted series from Q1 2008 as part of the concurrent approach. A comprehensive review of the seasonal adjustment specification is carried annually where revisions to the entire series are made. Revisions to the series are typically very minor in scale.

Occupational category estimates

From Q2 2010 a sub-sample of EHECS respondents has been used to generate earnings and hours estimates by three broad occupational categories.

Results are derived by utilising a matched sample of enterprises between consecutive quarters to generate quarterly updates to the previous quarters earnings.  An estimated series is included in table A1.  Given the number of enterprises involved it is only possible to produce reliable estimates when the sectors are grouped. Earnings for the broad occupational groups are therefore presented by the following amalgamations:

  • B-E                  Industry
  • B-N/R-S            All NACE sectors from Industry to Administrative and support service activities inclusive, plus Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities
  • O-Q                  All NACE sectors from Public administration and defence to Human health and social work activities, inclusive
  • B-S                  All NACE sectors

Review of preliminary versus final data

A detailed review of preliminary estimates and final data was undertaken to ascertain the extent of change between both sets of results.  The review focused on response rates, scale of revision at NACE sectoral level and significant changes in trends.  The findings of the review indicate that the preliminary figures can be accepted as a suitable indicator for quarterly trends. Analysis of the results for individual NACE sectors highlighted that the change from preliminary to final data was broadly in the range of plus or minus 5%. However, as response rates can impact on the quality of data at the sectoral level, it is advisable to be aware of this when interpreting preliminary results. In the quarterly release table A3 contains the differences between preliminary and final data for the most recent reported quarter, while table A2 highlights response rates.

Labour Cost Index (LCI)

Results of EHECS are compiled and transmitted to Eurostat for inclusion in the Labour Cost Index. The quarterly Labour Cost Index (LCI) shows the short-term development of the total hourly costs incurred by the employers of maintaining their employees. In other words, the LCI measures the costs arising from the production factor 'labour'. The LCI covers the economic activities of industry and services (including public administration). The reference year of the index is 2008. The labour cost index data is collected by EU Member States and is transmitted to Eurostat. In addition to the index numbers, Eurostat provides annual and quarterly growth rates of labour cost. Further labour cost index information and data is available through the Eurostat website:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/labour-market/labour-costs/database

Public Sector Employment

There are two CSO surveys which can potentially provide information on public sector employment. The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) can provide estimates based on all respondents who are in employment being asked whether they work in the public sector or not. The EHECS, which is the source of the quarterly Earnings and Labour Costs data, provides estimates based on responses from the employer. Specifically in the case of EHECS there is a response level of close to 80% for public sector employers over time.

Based on the higher response levels and lower levels of subjectivity associated with EHECS the CSO believes it offers a more reliable source for public sector number estimates over time and the CSO publishes data from EHECS as the primary series on public sector numbers.  Table 8e contains the estimates of public sector numbers broken down by the different high level areas within the public sector.

Public Sector Organisations

Public sector organisations consists of the following:

  • Civil Service
  • Defence
  • Garda Síochána
  • Education
  • Regional bodies
  • Health
  • Semi State, both commercial and non-commercial

Financial Crisis Related Bodies

Nationalised banks are in temporary public ownership resulting from the financial crisis, their employment and earnings data are excluded from Public Sector earnings and employment figures, this is in order to maintain the stability of the series. Their data is reflected in the appropriate NACE sector.

upArrowHide Background Notes