New CSO figures reveal the average weekly earnings of workers in Ireland

How do your weekly earnings compare to the average figure in Ireland?

Irish workers earned an average of €723.08 per week in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 1.4% from the first quarter of 2016, according to preliminary estimates of the Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly release, published by the Central Statistics Office on Friday. Average hourly earnings, meanwhile, increased from €22.52 in the first quarter of 2016 to €22.68 in the first quarter of this year; all figures quoted in the report represent gross amounts before deductions for PRSI, tax and other levies. The average weekly earnings for employees in the public sector increased to €915.73 in the first quarter of 2017, a rise of 1.6% from the first three months of 2016, while in the private sector, average weekly earnings showed an increase of 1.5% from €659.15 to €669.09 in the year to the first quarter of 2017. The report showed that there are large variations in earnings across the sectors in Ireland. The highest average weekly earnings of €1,162.16, for example, were in the Financial, insurance and real estate sector, followed by the Information and Communication sector at €1,094.84. The lowest average weekly earnings, on the other hand, were €326.90 in the Accommodation and food services sector and €471.12 in the Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector. Average weekly earnings increased in 11 of the 13 sectors in the economy in the year to the first quarter of 2017. The largest percentage increase was 5.2% in the Administrative and support services sector, in which average weekly earnings rose from €524.24 to €551.41. Average weekly earnings in the construction sector, meanwhile, rose by 3.8%, from €708.35 to €735.07. In the last five years, average weekly earnings rose by 3.3%, from €699.98 in the first quarter of 2012 to €723.08 in the first quarter of this year. You can read a more detailed breakdown of the CSO figures here.