CSO reveals the best paid industies in Ireland in 2018

Good news for anyone in the information and communications or finance and real estate sectors.

This week, the Central Statistics Office of Ireland released the Statistical Yearbook for the year ending in December 2018. Last year, the average annual total earnings for someone in Ireland were €38,871 in 2018, up from €37,637 in 2017. On average, those who worked in the information and communications sector and the financial and real estate sector earned the most, with those who work in accommodation and food, or arts and entertainment, earning the least. The below graphic details average earnings by sector. Births are declining, with 61,016 births last year compared to 68,954 in 2013 — an 11.5 decrease in five years. As in 2017, Jack remains the most popular boys' name while Emily remains the most popular girls' name. 2018 was the eighth consecutive year that Emily has been the most popular name for baby girls in Ireland. The average age for marriages went up once again by 0.3 years for both men and women. The average age for a man at the time of marriage is now 36.6 and the average age for a woman is 34.5. 18.8% of people in Ireland, however, are suffering from "enforced deprivation" — which refers to those unable to afford two or more basics, such as going without heating in the past year, or being unable to afford items such as two pairs of strong shoes, a warm waterproof coat or a meal with meat, chicken or fish every second day. The consistent poverty rate is at 6.7%, with 15% of the population at risk of poverty, earning less than 60% of the median income. Elsewhere, there was a notable increase in tourism to Ireland, with 10.6 million overseas trips made by non-residents to Ireland compared to 9.9 million trips in 2017. Trips by residents of USA and Canada to Ireland increased by 13.4% to almost 2.4 million trips between 2017 and 2018. A full breakdown of the enormous data set can be found here.