Official figures show that average industrial earnings rose at an annual rate of 4.5% in the final three months of 2008. Average hourly earnings were €20.33, according to the Central Statistics Office.
The CSO said that in the financial sector, average earnings rose by 4.6% in the final quarter compared with a year earlier to €27.28. But when the effect of lower bonuses was included, the rise was smaller at 3.7%. Financial sector bonuses fell from €2.88 to €2.74 per hour.
Between Q4 2007 and Q4 2008, hourly labour costs in the industrial sector were up 5.4%, while financial labour costs grew by 4.7%.
The CSO figures also show that 3,500 workers being paid the national minimum wage rate in the fourth quarter represented 1.6% of industrial workers. This was an annual fall of 900 workers, and down from 1.9% of workers in Q4 2007.
