Earnings of employees who received no income supports increased during Covid-19 restrictions

Those who received no income supports tended to be older than those who received them.

The earnings of people who received no Covid-19 supports over the past two years has increased. A new report by the Central Statistics Office showed that median earnings of those who never received income supports in Q3 2021 and Q3 2020 stood at €854 per week, a 7% increase on the previous year. The figures were included in the latest of a series of reports which seeks to analyse the impact of Covid supports on Irish employees and has been updated to include the following categories:

• Those who had no income supports (PUP and/or WSS) in both Q3 2021 and Q3 2020 - 66.7%.
• Those who had no income supports in Q3 2021 but did in Q3 2020 - 14.2%.
• Those who had income supports in both Q3 2021 and Q3 2020 - 15.6%.
• Those who had income supports in Q3 2021 but had none in Q3 2020 -3.6%.
• The report also showed that the median earnings of those who did not receive income supports in Q3 2021 but did in Q3 2020 stood at €581, an increase of 24% from the previous year.

Those who never received income supports in Q3 2021 and Q3 2020 and remained with the same employer over the period saw an increase in earnings of 6%. While those who never received income supports in Q3 2021 and Q3 2020 and changed employer over the period saw an increase in earnings of 13%. "This report examines the extent to which employees’ median weekly earnings and income were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact selected Covid-19 income support schemes had on the income of recipient employees," Seán O’Connor, Statistician at the CSO, said. "Those who never received income supports in Q3 2021 and Q3 2020 tended to have the highest median weekly income, followed by those who did not receive income supports in Q3 2021 but did in Q3 2020. "Those who received income supports in Q3 2021 and Q3 2020 have the lowest median income, followed finally by those who received income supports in Q3 2021 but who did not in Q3 2020.” As of Q3 2021, around eight out of every 10 people were no longer on an income support, according to the CSO analysis. Those who had no supports in either Q3 2021 or Q3 2020 tended to be the oldest cohort, with a median age of 40. While those who did not have supports in Q3 2021 but did in Q3 2020 were younger, with a median age of 36. The analysis in full can be accessed on the CSO website here.