The latest Central Statistics Office figures show that average earnings in the economy continue to increase in the second quarter of this year due to several factors.
These factors include a stable job vacancy rate for the past 18 months and annual employment growth of 2.3%.
The CSO said that preliminary estimates for April, May, and June show that average weekly earnings were €1,015.43, up 5.3% compared with €964.54 the same time last year.
Today's figures show that average weekly earnings rose across all sectors in the three month period.
The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly earnings was 11.4% in the Arts, Entertainment, Recreation & Other Service Activities sector, followed by an increase of 7.2% in the Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities sector.
Meanwhile, average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 4.3% to €31.04, while average weekly paid hours increased by 0.9% from 32.4 in the second quarter of 2024 to 32.7 in the second quarter of 2025.
The CSO said that average hourly other labour costs fell slightly by 0.4% across all economic sectors to €5.37, while average hourly total labour costs increased by 3.6% to €36.41 in the three month period under review.
The sector with the highest average hourly total labour costs in was the Information & Communication sector at €59.15, while the lowest average total labour costs were in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, which recorded a rate of €19.70.
Today's CSO figures also reveal that the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of this year was 1.3%, unchanged from the end of the first quarter of 2025, and the same time last year.
