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For more information on this release:
E-mail: earnings@cso.ie Majella Lysaght (+353) 21 4535513 Margaret O'Mahony (+353) 21 4535216 Brian Cahill (+353) 21 4535173
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5023
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly

Q3 2014 (Final) Q4 2014 (Preliminary Estimates)

QuarterAverage Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly HoursAverage Hourly Total Labour Costs
  € €Hours €
Q4 2013688.7821.7331.725.39
Q3 2014670.5321.0231.924.22
Q4 2014*704.3422.1131.925.53
     
Quarterly change %+5.0+5.2-+5.4
Annual change %+2.3+1.7+0.6+0.6
* Preliminary Estimates

Average weekly earnings up 2.3% in year to Q4 2014

Average weekly earnings by economic sector
go to full release

 

Preliminary estimates show that average weekly earnings were €704.34 in Q4 2014, a rise of 2.3% from €688.78 a year earlier. Revised weekly earnings were €670.53 in Q3 2014 and showed a decrease of 1.0% over the same period in 2013.  See table 1.

Other features of the preliminary results for Q4 2014 include:

  • Average hourly earnings were €22.11 in Q4 2014 compared with €21.73 in Q4 2013, representing an increase of 1.7% over the year. See table 2.
  • Average weekly paid hours were 31.9 in Q4 2014, an increase of 0.6% on those recorded in Q4 2013.  See table 3.
  • Average hourly total labour costs stood at €25.53 in Q4 2014, a rise of 0.6% from the Q4 2013 value of €25.39.  See table 5b.

 

Average weekly earnings increase in 9 of the 13 sectors in year to Q4 2014

Across the economic sectors average weekly earnings increased in 9 of the 13 sectors in the year to Q4 2014, with the largest percentage increase recorded in the Financial, insurance and real estate activities sector (+9.6%) rising from €976.15 to €1,069.56. The largest percentage sectoral decrease was recorded in the Professional, scientific and technical activities sector which saw weekly earning fall from €817.30 to €787.51 (-3.6%). See table 1.

Weekly average earnings in the private sector showed an increase of 3.0% (+€18.87) from €624.57 to €643.44 in the year to Q4 2014 compared with an increase of 0.3% (+€3.10) in the public sector (including semi-state sector) from €907.77 to €910.87. See table 1.

Over the 4 year period Q4 2010 to Q4 2014 average weekly earnings across individual  sectors show changes ranging between -6.3%, for the Human Health and social work sector decreasing from €728.06 to €682.53, and +10.0%, for the Information and Communication sector increasing from €953.36 to €1,048.61.  See table 1 and figure 2.

 

Note: While there is no internationally agreed methodology for assessing the public / private sector wage gap, the CSO has published an analysis of the differential using the National Employment Survey (NES) for 2009 and 2010. This analysis took account of compositional differences between sectors, such as occupational mix, sectors of activity, gender balance, union membership etc. Using a variety of criteria and assumptions, the public sector pay gap was estimated to range from 6.1% to 18.9% for NES 2010. See link below.

http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/earnings/2010/nes_0910supp.pdf

 

4 Year % change
J9.99097927330703
N6.23575416657953
M5.90078399203906
B-E5.67600397541135
K-L4.72329925978145
H4.2180340388392
G2.6443833298075
I0.938634824890761
Total0.343339079395388
F-2.57247323060851
O-3.4041482816807
P-4.56555159633422
R-S-5.0393361775412
Q-6.25360547207647

Total

All Sectors

K-L

Financial, insurance and real estate activities

B-E

Industry

M

Professional, scientific and technical activities

F

Construction

N

Administrative and support service activities

G

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

O

Public Administration and defence; compulsory social security

H

Transportation and storage

P

Education

I

Accommodation and food service activities

Q

Human health and social work activities

J

Information and communication

R-S

Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities

 

 

Average hourly earnings increase 1.7% to €22.11 in year to Q4 2014

Average hourly earnings increased from €21.73 per hour in Q4 2013 to €22.11 in Q4 2014, representing an increase of 1.7% or €0.38.  This compares with a revised decrease of 1.6% in average hourly earnings in the year to Q3 2014 from €21.36 to €21.02 per hour.  See table 2 and graph below.

X-axis labelQ4 2013Q4 2014
B-E21.8722.51
F20.3219.81
G17.4217.58
H21.4621.04
I12.2712.4
J27.528.73
K-L28.7731.16
M24.7524.6
N15.9616.87
O25.4625.5
P34.3334.38
Q22.322.2
R-S17.1517.21
All sectors21.7322.11

 

In the four years to Q4 2014 overall average hourly earnings increased by 0.2% from €22.07. Across the sectors hourly earnings have increased in 7 of the 13 sectors. The largest percentage increase was recorded in the Information and communication sector (+8.5%) from €26.48 to €28.73. The largest percentage decrease in average hourly earnings over the same period was recorded in the Human Health and social work sector (-5.7%) from €23.53 to €22.20.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees showed an annual increase of 0.9% in average hourly earnings in Q4 2014, from €18.33 to €18.50. Enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees recorded a decrease of 0.5%, from €19.76 to €19.66 in average hourly earnings over the same period.  Results for enterprises with greater than 250 employees showed an increase of 3.1% in the year to Q4 2014 with values rising from €24.71 to €25.48 in average hourly earnings.

Private sector average hourly earnings increased 2.4% from €19.78 to €20.26 in the year to Q4 2014, while public sector hourly earnings rose by 0.2%, €28.26 to €28.31, in the same period.

 

Paid hours per week increase 0.6% to 31.9 in year to Q4 2014

Average weekly paid hours were 31.9 in Q4 2014, which represented an increase of 0.6%, from 31.7 over the year.  Revised average weekly paid hours were 31.9 in Q3 2014 and showed an increase of 0.6% over the same period in 2013.  In the four years to Q4 2014 average weekly paid hours show an increase of 0.3% from 31.8 in Q4 2010.  See table 3.

The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly paid hours in Q4 2014 was recorded in the Construction sector (+4.7%), from 36.0 to 37.7 hours.  The largest percentage decrease over the same period was seen in the Professional, scientific and technical activities and other service activities sector (-3.0%) from 33.0 to 32.0 hours.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees showed a decrease of 0.3% over the four years to Q4 2014 from 30.4 to 30.3 hours, while enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees showed no difference at 32.6 hours,  enterprises with greater than 250 employees increased by 0.3% from 32.6 hours  to 32.7 hours. See table 3.

Data is now available on the CSO statbank at 2 digit NACE level, with some selected NACEs grouped, for average weekly earnings, average hourly earnings and average weekly paid hours.  See link below.

http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Statire/SelectVarVal/Define.asp?maintable=EHQ15&PLanguage=0

 

Average hourly total labour costs increase by 0.6% in year to Q4 2014 

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 0.6% over the year to Q4 2014.  The largest percentage increase in total labour costs was seen in the Administrative and support activities sector, rising by 5.8% from €18.31to €19.37 per hour. The Information and communication sector recorded the largest percentage decrease in total labour cost, decreasing by 9.1% from €38.20 to €34.72.

In the year to Q4 2014 the total labour cost in firms with less than 50 employees increased by 0.8% (from €20.81 to €20.98), while there was a 1.0% decrease in total labour costs for firms with 50 to 250 employees (from €23.26 to 23.03). Enterprises with 250 plus employees recorded an increase of 1.2% over the same period (from €29.21 to €29.55). See table 5b.

The public sector labour costs decreased by 0.2% in the year to Q4 2014 decreasing from €31.32 to €31.27 while the private sector recorded an increase in total labour costs of 0.8% from €23.62 to €23.82 in the year.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 0.9% over the four years to Q4 2014 from €25.30 per hour to €25.53.  The percentage changes across the sectors ranged from -5.1% in the Human health and social work activities sector (from €25.89 to €24.57) to +8.8% in the Information and communication sector (from €31.91 to €34.72).  See table 5b and graph below.

X Axis Label4 year % change
J8.80601692259479
N6.54565456545655
B-E5.48312883435584
G5.17063081695968
M4.53874538745387
H2.2037422037422
Total0.909090909090904
K-L0.858034321372858
O-2.09591474245115
P-2.22624902925187
I-2.48756218905473
R-S-2.67062314540059
F-5.04625735912533
Q-5.09849362688297

Average weekly earnings increase 0.3% across the public sector in year to Q4 2014 

Average weekly earnings increased by 0.3% across the public sector in year to Q4 2014. Four of the seven public sector sub-sectors recorded falls in average weekly earnings in the same period.

The largest percentage decrease was in the Defence sector, where weekly earnings dropped by 7.1% over the year, from €895.83 to €832.36.  The largest percentage increase was in the Health sector where earnings rose by 2.1% from €851.99 to €869.83 per week. See tables 6a and graph below.

X-axis labelQ4 2013Q4 2014
Civil service924.16917.43
Defence895.83832.36
Garda Siochana1131.971141.97
Education920.98911.17
Regional bodies830.74832.91
Health851.99869.83
Semi-state994.88988.85
All sectors907.77910.87

 

Annual decrease of 0.4% in public sector employment in Q4 2014

The estimated number of persons employed in the public sector showed a reduction of 0.4% over the year to Q4 2014 from 376,500 to 375,000. 

In the year to Q4 2014 the largest percentage decrease was recorded in the Regional Bodies sector (-2.7%), a fall of 900 over the Q4 2013 number. The largest percentage increase over the same period was recorded in the Semi-state sector, increasing 5.7% from 48,900 to 51,700 people employed. 

Over the four years from Q4 2010 to Q4 2014 overall employment numbers in the public sector fell by 29,000 (-7.2%) from 404,000 to 375,000. See table A1.

X-axis labelQ4 2013Q4 2014
Civil service3890038200
Defence97009800
Garda Siochana1300012800
Education111000111500
Regional bodies3300032100
Health122000118900
Semi-state4890051700

Table A1 contains estimates of public sector employment numbers by high level area within the overall public sector.  Public sector employment is spread across a number of NACE economic sectors and includes Semi-state bodies in sectors such as Transportation and storage and Information and communication. Furthermore, while employment in the Public administration and defence, Education and Human health and social work sectors is mainly in public sector organisations, there is some element of private sector employment too.

 

Labour Cost Index decreased by 0.8% in year to Q3 2014

Ireland’s hourly labour cost index decreased by 0.8% in the year to Q3 2014. This compares to an increase of 1.4% in the EU wide labour cost index. The change in labour costs of member countries varied in the year to Q3 2014, with Cyprus showing a fall of 2.8% and Greece recording a rise of 7.2% in their respective labour cost indices. See table A5.

 

 

It should be noted that all earnings are gross amounts before deductions for PRSI, tax and other levies.  This is particularly relevant to the public sector since March 2009 when the pension levy was introduced. 

The terms of the Haddington Road agreement have implications on public sector earnings, for example, some public sector workers have increased hours resulting in a fall in hourly earnings.  For the full text of the agreement see the following link: -   http://per.gov.ie/haddington-road-agreement/  

Changes in the composition of employees in a given sector or group has an effect on the average levels of earnings and paid hours over time.  For example, if the proportion of part-time employees increases within a sector then it would be expected that the average weekly earnings and paid hours would fall in that sector even if the hourly pay rates were unchanged.  Also, estimated averages do not reflect differences in characteristics of the job or the employees, and since EHECS collects aggregate data from each enterprise it is not possible to correct for such differences using EHECS data.

Many public sector employees are paid on the basis of incremental scales. Recruitment, particularly at lower levels, to these sectors would generally result in a depression to average earnings.  The absence of recruitment has the opposite effect.  Earnings are inclusive of overtime and irregular earnings. The variability of these components can impact on trends over time.   The reduction in employee numbers across the public sector will also impact on average earnings.  Consideration to these factors should be given when interpreting results.

 

 

Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1   
NACE Principal Activity20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
          
            
  %%
            
B-EIndustry815.01810.59823.56831.61827.79861.27+33.48+4.0+29.66+3.6
FConstruction765.80662.89704.06731.42707.36746.10+38.74+5.5+14.68+2.0
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles519.97517.12519.38533.33518.17533.72+15.55+3.0+0.39+0.1
HTransportation and storage733.28722.33718.81755.77712.94764.21+51.27+7.2+8.44+1.1
IAccommodation and food services324.94326.18319.67316.12320.55327.99+7.44+2.3+11.87+3.8
JInformation and communication953.36966.61994.771002.931019.081,048.61+29.53+2.9+45.68+4.6
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1021.32970.92970.62976.15936.661,069.56+132.90+14.2+93.41+9.6
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities743.63826.32790.61817.30763.35787.51+24.16+3.2-29.79 -3.6
NAdministrative and support services 478.21499.82512.03487.46474.85508.03+33.18+7.0+20.57+4.2
OPublic administration and defence954.13918.38926.43925.68911.57921.65+10.08+1.1-4.03 -0.4
PEducation839.11881.07828.13816.92780.72800.80+20.08+2.6-16.12 -2.0
QHuman health and social work728.06718.20695.10671.36668.70682.53+13.83+2.1+11.17+1.7
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities510.98447.19458.39486.43462.03485.23+23.20+5.0-1.20 -0.2
            
Total 701.93697.65691.74688.78670.53704.34+33.81+5.0+15.56+2.3
            
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector629.07621.86622.40624.57604.50643.44+38.94+6.4+18.87+3.0
Public sector1917.06919.05921.41907.77904.34910.87+6.53+0.7+3.10+0.3
            
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees559.86543.11542.76549.80520.79560.91+40.12+7.7+11.11+2.0
50-250 employees643.79656.18651.69643.72623.51640.59+17.08+2.7-3.13 -0.5
Greater than 250 employees826.75825.15824.81805.63793.86833.08+39.22+4.9+27.45+3.4
            
1 Average weekly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 6a.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1    
NACE Principal Activity20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
          
            
  %%
            
B-EIndustry21.7121.5521.9121.8721.7522.51+0.76+3.5+0.64+2.9
FConstruction20.9618.5919.7320.3219.0319.81+0.78+4.1-0.51 -2.5
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles16.8617.0416.9417.4216.7717.58+0.81+4.8+0.16+0.9
HTransportation and storage19.8319.9520.1521.4620.1321.04+0.91+4.5-0.42 -2.0
IAccommodation and food services12.7112.4312.4812.2711.8812.40+0.52+4.4+0.13+1.1
JInformation and communication26.4827.1927.6227.5027.9928.73+0.74+2.6+1.23+4.5
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate30.4629.0828.4128.7726.8931.16+4.27+15.9+2.39+8.3
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities23.5325.2124.8224.7523.7624.60+0.84+3.5-0.15 -0.6
NAdministrative and support services 16.0016.8416.4015.9615.3416.87+1.53+10.0+0.91+5.7
OPublic administration and defence26.3026.0026.2425.4625.2925.50+0.21+0.8+0.04+0.2
PEducation35.6936.3735.4734.3332.9734.38+1.41+4.3+0.05+0.1
QHuman health and social work23.5323.6022.9122.3022.1822.20+0.02+0.1-0.10 -0.4
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities17.7716.3316.3117.1516.2017.21+1.01+6.2+0.06+0.3
            
Total 22.0722.0321.8921.7321.0222.11+1.09+5.2+0.38+1.7
            
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector19.7519.6219.6919.7819.0220.26+1.24+6.5+0.48+2.4
Public sector 128.9629.1029.1828.2628.0128.31+0.30+1.1+0.05+0.2
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees18.4217.7917.9718.3317.2518.50+1.25+7.2+0.17+0.9
50-250 employees19.7520.2220.0619.7619.1019.66+0.56+2.9-0.10 -0.5
Greater than 250 employees25.3825.6125.4724.7124.1825.48+1.30+5.4+0.77+3.1
            
1 Average hourly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 6b.
* Preliminary Estimates   
Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1
NACE Principal Activity20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
          
       
  hourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
          
B-EIndustry37.537.637.638.038.138.3+0.2+0.5+0.3+0.8
FConstruction36.535.735.736.037.237.7+0.5+1.3+1.7+4.7
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles30.830.330.730.630.930.4-0.5 -1.6 -0.2 -0.7
HTransportation and storage37.036.235.735.235.436.3+0.9+2.5+1.1+3.1
IAccommodation and food services25.626.325.625.827.026.4-0.6 -2.2 +0.6+2.3
JInformation and communication36.035.636.036.536.436.5+0.1+0.3--
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate33.533.434.233.934.834.3-0.5 -1.4 +0.4+1.2
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities31.632.831.933.032.132.0-0.1 -0.3 -1.0 -3.0
NAdministrative and support services 29.929.731.230.531.030.1-0.9 -2.9 -0.4 -1.3
OPublic administration and defence36.335.335.336.436.036.1+0.1+0.3-0.3 -0.8
PEducation23.524.223.323.823.723.3-0.4 -1.7 -0.5 -2.1
QHuman health and social work30.930.430.330.130.130.7+0.6+2.0+0.6+2.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities28.827.428.128.428.528.2-0.3 -1.1 -0.2 -0.7
            
Total 31.831.731.631.731.931.9--+0.2+0.6
            
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector31.931.731.631.631.831.8--+0.2+0.6
Public sector131.731.631.632.132.332.2-0.1 -0.3 +0.1+0.3
            
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees30.430.530.230.030.230.3+0.1+0.3+0.3+1.0
50-250 employees32.632.532.532.632.632.6----
Greater than 250 employees32.632.232.432.632.832.7-0.1 -0.3 +0.1+0.3
            
1 Average weekly paid hours by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 6c.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 4a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1
NACE Principal Activity20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
          
         
  %%
            
B-EIndustry20.4320.1220.5120.5120.6821.02+0.34+1.6+0.51+2.5
FConstruction19.9918.2919.3419.7118.6119.06+0.45+2.4-0.65 -3.3
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles15.9116.1116.0016.3716.1816.56+0.38+2.3+0.19+1.2
HTransportation and storage18.7718.6918.6419.8419.2619.68+0.42+2.2-0.16 -0.8
IAccommodation and food services12.4912.2112.2212.0311.7012.12+0.42+3.6+0.09+0.7
JInformation and communication24.1125.1025.7025.3125.2125.70+0.49+1.9+0.39+1.5
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate27.7427.2326.8726.6825.8926.87+0.98+3.8+0.19+0.7
MProfessional, scientific and technical22.3623.9823.7223.6622.4923.22+0.73+3.2-0.44 -1.9
NAdministrative and support services activities15.2115.8015.4515.1414.7816.21+1.43+9.7+1.07+7.1
OPublic administration and defence25.1924.9225.2424.4524.3024.46+0.16+0.7+0.01-
PEducation35.1235.8134.8233.7832.6633.84+1.18+3.6+0.06+0.2
QHuman health and social work22.3922.5021.8521.3521.2221.28+0.06+0.3-0.07 -0.3
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities16.7615.8415.6316.3015.8216.41+0.59+3.7+0.11+0.7
            
Total 20.9320.9720.8320.6520.1920.84+0.65+3.2+0.19+0.9
            
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector18.6518.6018.7118.7118.2418.95+0.71+3.9+0.24+1.3
Public sector227.7227.8927.8627.1226.9927.17+0.18+0.7+0.05+0.2
            
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees17.4617.0317.2717.5016.7717.67+0.90+5.4+0.17+1.0
50-250 employees18.7519.2019.1318.7318.4018.72+0.32+1.7-0.01 -0.1
Greater than 250 employees24.0824.3124.1123.4423.0623.78+0.72+3.1+0.34+1.5
            
1 Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings plus the average hourly irregular earnings in Table 4b equal average hourly earnings as set out in Table 2.
2 Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 6d.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 4b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1
NACE Principal Activity20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
        
        
  
        
B-EIndustry1.291.431.401.361.071.48+0.41+0.12
FConstruction0.970.300.400.610.420.75+0.33+0.14
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.950.930.951.050.591.02+0.43-0.03
HTransportation and storage1.061.261.511.620.871.36+0.49-0.26
IAccommodation and food services0.220.210.260.240.190.28+0.09+0.04
JInformation and communication2.372.091.922.192.773.03+0.26+0.84
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate2.721.851.542.091.014.30+3.29+2.21
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities1.171.221.101.091.271.38+0.11+0.29
NAdministrative and support services 0.791.040.940.820.560.66+0.10-0.16
OPublic administration and defence1.111.081.001.010.991.04+0.05+0.03
PEducation0.570.560.650.550.310.53+0.22-0.02
QHuman health and social work1.151.101.070.950.960.91-0.05-0.04
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities1.010.500.680.850.380.80+0.42-0.05
          
Total 1.141.071.051.090.831.27+0.44+0.18
          
Public/Private Sector        
          
Private sector1.101.020.971.070.781.31+0.53+0.24
Public sector1.231.211.311.141.021.14+0.12-
          
Size of Enterprise        
          
Less than 50 employees0.960.760.700.830.480.83+0.35-
50-250 employees1.001.020.931.030.700.93+0.23-0.10
Greater than 250 employees1.301.301.361.281.121.69+0.57+0.41
1 Average hourly irregular earnings plus the average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings in Table 4a equal average hourly earnings as set out in Table 2.
* Preliminary Estimates        
Table 5a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter  
NACE Principal Activity20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
            
  %%
  
B-EIndustry4.374.594.684.974.755.00+0.25+5.3+0.03+0.6
FConstruction2.812.372.452.532.312.77+0.46+19.9+0.24+9.5
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles2.482.492.902.712.462.76+0.30+12.2+0.05+1.8
HTransportation and storage4.223.734.454.303.743.54-0.20 -5.3 -0.76 -17.7
IAccommodation and food services1.351.171.121.131.251.32+0.07+5.6+0.19+16.8
JInformation and communication5.435.715.9210.705.875.99+0.12+2.0-4.71 -44.0
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate8.007.479.408.487.447.63+0.19+2.6-0.85 -10.0
MProfessional, scientific and technical3.584.394.214.373.493.73+0.24+6.9-0.64 -14.6
NAdministrative and support services activities 2.182.042.172.351.992.50+0.51+25.6+0.15+6.4
OPublic administration and defence1.851.861.992.022.032.06+0.03+1.5+0.04+2.0
PEducation2.953.323.533.443.313.39+0.08+2.4-0.05 -1.5
QHuman health and social work2.362.302.342.252.332.37+0.04+1.7+0.12+5.3
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities2.452.342.152.502.252.46+0.21+9.3-0.04 -1.6
            
Total 3.233.263.543.663.203.42+0.22+6.9-0.24 -6.6
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector3.303.383.643.843.263.56+0.30+9.2-0.28 -7.3
Public sector3.022.903.193.062.972.96-0.01 -0.3 -0.10 -3.3
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees2.342.212.572.482.142.48+0.34+15.9--
50-250 employees3.223.423.193.503.183.37+0.19+6.0-0.13 -3.7
Greater than 250 employees3.843.934.384.503.894.08+0.19+4.9-0.42 -9.3
            
* Preliminary Estimates      
Table 5b Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1    
NACE Principal Activity20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
          
          
  %%
           
B-EIndustry26.0826.1426.5926.8326.5027.51+1.01+3.8+0.68+2.5
FConstruction23.7820.9622.1922.8521.3422.58+1.24+5.8-0.27 -1.2
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles19.3419.5319.8420.1219.2420.34+1.10+5.7+0.22+1.1
HTransportation and storage24.0523.6824.5925.7623.8724.58+0.71+3.0-1.18 -4.6
IAccommodation and food services14.0713.6013.6013.4013.1313.72+0.59+4.5+0.32+2.4
JInformation and communication31.9132.9033.5438.2033.8634.72+0.86+2.5-3.48 -9.1
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate38.4636.5537.8137.2534.3338.79+4.46+13.0+1.54+4.1
MProfessional, scientific and technical27.1029.6029.0329.1127.2528.33+1.08+4.0-0.78 -2.7
NAdministrative and support services activities 18.1818.8818.5718.3117.3319.37+2.04+11.8+1.06+5.8
OPublic administration and defence28.1527.8628.2327.4827.3327.56+0.23+0.8+0.08+0.3
PEducation38.6339.6939.0037.7736.2837.77+1.49+4.1--
QHuman health and social work25.8925.8925.2624.5524.5124.57+0.06+0.2+0.02+0.1
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities20.2218.6818.4619.6518.4419.68+1.24+6.7+0.03+0.2
            
Total 25.3025.2925.4225.3924.2225.53+1.31+5.4+0.14+0.6
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector23.0523.0023.3323.6222.2823.82+1.54+6.9+0.20+0.8
Public sector31.9732.0132.3731.3230.9831.27+0.29+0.9-0.05 -0.2
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees20.7620.0020.5420.8119.3920.98+1.59+8.2+0.17+0.8
50-250 employees22.9723.6423.2523.2622.2823.03+0.75+3.4-0.23 -1.0
Greater than 250 employees29.2229.5429.8529.2128.0729.55+1.48+5.3+0.34+1.2
            
1 Average hourly total labour costs equal the average hourly earnings in Table 2 plus the average hourly other labour costs as set out in Table 5a.
* Preliminary Estimates       
Table 5c Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1
NACE Principal Activity2011201220132014
    
Q4Q4Q4Q4
    
      
B-EIndustry202,100195,300199,000199,900
FConstruction66,50060,70059,40069,900
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles276,100280,000275,200282,300
HTransportation and storage62,70061,60062,20063,000
IAccommodation and food services122,300125,100141,400142,700
JInformation and communication55,30059,20058,80061,200
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate90,40089,80084,90087,800
MProfessional, scientific and technical67,00072,70081,50083,500
NAdministrative and support services activites77,70074,00074,30079,400
OPublic administration and defence113,900106,300105,400104,900
PEducation129,200129,600131,700137,400
QHuman health and social work222,300223,500228,200226,300
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities49,00047,10045,40044,900
      
Total 1,534,5001,524,9001,547,3001,583,200
Public/Private Sector    
      
Private sector1,143,0001,143,3001,170,8001,208,200
Public sector391,600381,800376,500375,000
      
1 It should be noted that the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is the official source of
estimates of employment. The estimated trend in the number of employees refers to QHNS employee estimates,
but differs in coverage in certain ways, such as the fact that a person with two jobs could be counted twice in the
table and the exclusion of the Agriculture, forestry and fishing sector which is covered by the QNHS.
Table 6a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter     
Public sector sub-sector20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
           
 %%
           
Civil service1,008.21946.87932.44924.16896.82917.43+20.61+2.3-6.73-0.7
Defence836.80852.54844.84895.83810.40832.36+21.96+2.7-63.47-7.1
Garda Siochana1,149.991,124.281,142.171,131.971,182.921141.97-40.95-3.5+10.00+0.9
Education904.29943.61937.39920.98923.22911.17-12.05-1.3-9.81-1.1
Regional bodies811.58815.05831.31830.74819.51832.91+13.40+1.6+2.17+0.3
Health873.56872.44877.64851.99858.37869.83+11.46+1.3+17.84+2.1
Semi-state1,006.51990.731,003.36994.88970.94988.85+17.91+1.8-6.03-0.6
           
Total public sector917.06919.05921.41907.77904.34910.87+6.53+0.73.100.3
           
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies903.80908.68909.08894.91892.67896.35+3.68+0.41.440.2
           
Semi-state by sub-sector          
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies1,031.86962.841,030.991,019.32947.56958.40+10.84+1.1-60.92-6.0
Commercial Semi-state bodies999.92999.05995.46987.99980.051,000.10+20.05+2.0+12.11+1.2
           
* Preliminary Estimates          
Table 6b Average hourly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter     
Public sector sub-sector20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
           
 %%
           
Civil service26.6326.9426.9325.4724.9325.26+0.33+1.3-0.21-0.8
Defence23.5023.9623.5724.9022.8623.32+0.46+2.0-1.58-6.3
Garda Siochana27.4527.7227.9428.2329.1028.26-0.84-2.9+0.03+0.1
Education37.8238.6839.3738.0837.7037.94+0.24+0.6-0.14-0.4
Regional bodies25.2123.6324.0623.2922.9923.48+0.49+2.1+0.19+0.8
Health26.3726.5526.5625.4125.4125.28-0.13-0.5-0.13-0.5
Semi-state26.5327.7227.8727.2726.6627.32+0.66+2.5+0.05+0.2
           
Total public sector 28.9629.1029.1828.2628.0128.31+0.30+1.1+0.05+0.2
           
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies29.4029.3429.4028.4328.2028.43+0.23+0.8--
           
Semi-state by sub-sector          
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.4630.5030.5229.1028.2028.33+0.13+0.5-0.77-2.6
Commercial Semi-state bodies25.8427.0127.1726.7826.1226.98+0.86+3.3+0.20+0.7
           
* Preliminary Estimates          
Table 6c Average weekly paid hours by public sector sub-sector and quarter     
Public sector sub-sector20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
           
 hourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
           
Civil service37.935.134.636.336.036.3+0.3+0.8--
Defence35.635.635.836.035.435.7+0.3+0.8-0.3-0.8
Garda Siochana41.940.640.940.140.640.4-0.2-0.5+0.3+0.7
Education23.924.423.824.224.524.0-0.5-2.0-0.2-0.8
Regional bodies32.234.534.635.735.635.5-0.1-0.3-0.2-0.6
Health33.132.933.033.533.834.4+0.6+1.8+0.9+2.7
Semi-state37.935.736.036.536.436.2-0.2-0.5-0.3-0.8
           
Total public sector 31.731.631.632.132.332.2-0.1-0.3+0.1+0.3
           
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies30.731.030.931.531.731.5-0.2-0.6--
           
Semi-state by sub-sector          
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies35.031.633.835.033.633.8+0.2+0.6-1.2-3.4
Commercial Semi-state bodies38.737.036.636.937.537.1-0.4-1.1+0.2+0.5
           
* Preliminary Estimates          
Table 6d Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter1
Public sector sub-sector20102011201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
           
 %%
    
Civil service26.1926.4226.4625.0024.5224.71+0.19+0.8-0.29-1.2
Defence22.4122.9522.4723.8922.0621.89-0.17-0.8-2.00-8.4
Garda Siochana24.1924.3624.7524.9025.1524.93-0.22-0.9+0.03+0.1
Education37.1938.1338.6837.5337.3937.41+0.02+0.1-0.12-0.3
Regional bodies24.2822.8623.2722.4122.3322.66+0.33+1.5+0.25+1.1
Health24.8225.0124.9324.0323.9423.93-0.01--0.10-0.4
Semi-state24.9526.0425.8925.6825.7625.82+0.06+0.2+0.14+0.5
           
Total public sector 27.7227.8927.8627.1226.9927.17+0.18+0.7+0.05+0.2
          
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies28.2328.2028.2127.3727.1727.37+0.20+0.7--
           
Semi-state by sub-sector          
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.2329.8530.1728.7427.9427.98+0.04+0.1-0.76-2.6
Commercial Semi-state bodies23.9625.0724.7724.8625.0025.10+0.10+0.4+0.24+1.0
           
1 To calculate average hourly irregular earnings subtract values in Table 6d from Table 6b.      
* Preliminary Estimates       
Table A1 Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter1 
Public sector sub-sector20102011201220132014Annual change
Q4Q4Q4Q4Q3Q4*
        
         
  '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000%
         
Civil service39.639.739.438.938.538.2-0.7-1.8
Defence10.310.19.69.79.69.8+0.1+1.0
Garda Siochana14.413.913.413.012.812.8-0.2-1.5
Education115.0111.3111.3111.0107.7111.5+0.5+0.5
Regional bodies35.235.034.033.032.532.1-0.9-2.7
Health134.2128.3123.2122.0119.0118.9-3.1-2.5
Semi-state55.353.350.948.951.751.7+2.8+5.7
         
Total public sector404.0391.6381.8376.5371.9375.0-1.5-0.4
         
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies348.7338.3330.9327.6320.1323.3-4.3-1.3
Semi-state by sub-sector        
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies11.110.810.09.612.512.3+0.2+28.1
Commercial Semi-state bodies44.242.540.939.239.239.4+2.7+0.5
        
1 Source: Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey. Public Sector employment includes all those who received a payment which would include both full-time
and part-time employees as well as contract workers. Total public sector numbers are also published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on a
quarterly basis. Those differ in coverage from the estimates in Table A1 as Department of Public Expenditure and Reform estimates are based on full-time equivalents
which will change over time based on both changes in working hours and number of persons employed. 
* Preliminary Estimates
Table A2 Estimates of average weekly earnings by broad occupational categories1
  201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
 Occupation with certain    
  NACE groupsQ3Q3Q2Q3
        
 Managers, professionals and associated professionals             % %
        
 B-E1,391.651,436.411,402.561,376.53-1.9-4.2
 B-N, R-S1,197.501,240.141,207.561,216.30+0.7-1.9
 O-Q1,022.111,065.011,094.221,087.36-0.6+2.1
        
 Total (B-S)1,114.971,152.511,127.961,134.43+0.6-1.6
        
        
 Clerical, sales and service employees      
        
 B-E757.43754.97740.07765.63+3.5+1.4
 B-N, R-S453.17440.94450.19465.08+3.3+5.5
 O-Q532.07518.07523.44534.62+2.1+3.2
        
 Total (B-S)480.91467.56476.84492.23+3.2+5.3
        
        
 Production, transport, craft and other manual workers      
        
 B-E632.14620.23680.86684.27+0.5+10.3
 B-N, R-S554.78495.29504.29509.90+1.1+2.9
 O-Q443.81426.56440.36427.57-2.9+0.2
        
 Total (B-S)539.47485.39495.79499.66+0.8+2.9
        
1 These estimates have been generated using a sub sample of EHECS respondents and therefore caution is advised when interpreting these results. See background notes.
Table A3 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter1
NACE Principal ActivityEmployer Response Rate %Employee Response Rate %Total number of respondent enterprises in Q4 2014
Final Q3 2013Preliminary Q3 2014Final Q3 2014Preliminary Q4 2014Final Q3 2013Preliminary Q3 2014Final Q3 2014Preliminary Q4 2014
           
B-EIndustry63.559.465.155.784.379.686.274.2602
FConstruction41.835.544.236.466.865.172.268.787
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles60.955.063.053.780.672.979.875.2699
HTransportation and storage55.946.956.045.590.174.687.883.0121
IAccommodation and food services48.040.446.840.866.654.561.956.6345
JInformation and communication65.357.263.959.987.978.987.285.5187
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate70.461.171.163.293.984.791.690.5189
MProfessional, scientific and technical61.749.858.650.779.065.377.263.6215
NAdministrative and support services activities64.951.564.356.383.375.585.577.6202
OPublic administration and defence93.591.595.490.889.998.299.397.8119
PEducation73.663.071.066.496.289.495.490.5164
QHuman health and social work77.470.677.970.396.391.194.191.4502
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities64.757.765.757.382.882.486.476.9232
Total 62.855.663.355.387.181.187.281.93,664
1 This table presents the response rates achieved by sector. Greater caution should be taken in the interpretation of estimates for sectors with lower response rates as these sectors could be subject to greater revisions if response levels are increased for final estimates.
Table A4 Preliminary data versus final data1        
NACE Principal ActivityPreliminary Q3 2014Final Q3 2014Percentage Change
Average Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly HoursAverage Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly HoursAverage Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly Hours
           
  hourshours%%%
        
B-EIndustry832.5921.9338.0827.7921.7538.1-0.6 -0.8 +0.3
FConstruction709.8219.2136.9707.3619.0337.2-0.3 -0.9 +0.8
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles520.2016.8730.8518.1716.7730.9-0.4 -0.6 +0.3
HTransportation and storage730.8720.3935.9712.9420.1335.4-2.5 -1.3 -1.4
IAccommodation and food services320.6511.8827.0320.5511.8827.0---
JInformation and communication1,016.4828.0336.31,019.0827.9936.4+0.3-0.1 +0.3
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate925.8426.7334.6936.6626.8934.8+1.2+0.6+0.6
MProfessional, scientific and technical750.3523.3532.1763.3523.7632.1+1.7+1.8-
NAdministrative and support services activities484.6515.6730.9474.8515.3431.0-2.0 -2.1 +0.3
OPublic administration and defence913.3825.2836.1911.5725.2936.0-0.2 --0.3
PEducation782.6332.9723.7780.7232.9723.7-0.2 --
QHuman health and social work670.0422.2330.1668.7022.1830.1-0.2 -0.2 -
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities456.3215.9228.7462.0316.2028.5+1.3+1.8-0.7
           
Total 671.7021.0731.9670.5321.0231.9-0.2 -0.2 -
           
Public/Private Sector         
           
Private sector605.9819.0831.8604.5019.0231.8-0.2 -0.3 -
Public sector905.8928.0332.3904.3428.0132.3-0.2 -0.1 -
           
Size of Enterprise         
           
Less than 50 employees523.9217.3230.2520.7917.2530.2-0.6 -0.4 -
50-250 employees622.8119.2132.4623.5119.1032.6+0.1-0.6 +0.6
Greater than 250 employees793.7824.1932.8793.8624.1832.8---
         
1 See background notes.
Table A5 Labour Cost Index Working Day Adjusted1
European Union countries2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2014 Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q3 Q3 Q3 Q3 Q3 Q3 Q2 Q3 
        
                 %%
European Union (28 countries)98.6 101.3 102.2 104.7 106.9 107.9 114.2 109.4 -4.2+1.4
Euro area (18 countries)98.1 100.8 101.6 103.9 106.2 107.1 115.7 108.6 -6.1+1.4
Belgium95.1 99.3 102.4 104.5 106.6 108.9 115.8 109.6*-5.4+0.6
Bulgaria105.7 115.0 125.3 132.5 137.2 147.0*143.5*151.7*+5.7+3.2
Czech Republic106.1 111.1 116.8 122.1 126.2 125.8 112.5 127.1 +13.0+1.0
Denmark98.7  - -106.6 108.4 109.3 119.0 110.8 -6.9+1.4
Germany 94.6 97.5 98.3 101.0 104.4 105.0 122.8 107.4 -12.5+2.3
Estonia103.4 99.4 98.8 102.8 110.6 118.8 124.5 126.4 +1.5+6.4
Ireland98.4 100.8 97.8 97.9 99.3 98.1 99.4 97.3*-2.1-0.8
Greece109.9 103.4 97.1 93.0 80.8 79.1 78.8 84.8 +7.6+7.2
Spain103.9*108.6*107.5*110.8*111.5*112.0*107.0*112.3*+5.0+0.3
France97.9*99.0*101.6*104.2*107.0*107.5*110.8*108.0*-2.5+0.5
Croatia102.0 95.1 95.1 99.4 100.0 100.5 100.7  ---
Italy96.7 100.1 102.2 103.2 105.3 106.2 108.0 106.7 -1.2+0.5
Cyprus100.7 102.2 105.6 108.1 106.4 101.6*92.5*98.8*+6.8-2.8
Latvia104.1*97.4*95.2*99.9*103.3*109.3*114.3*115.2*+0.8+5.4
Lithuania108.7 100.9 98.1 100.4 105.4 112.4 105.5 115.7 +9.7+2.9
Luxembourg94.5 95.9 98.6 100.7 103.8 106.1 120.9 109.4 -9.5+3.1
Hungary98.6 97.5 97.1 102.2 108.3 109.8*111.9*113.3*+1.3+3.2
Malta105.9*106.9*112.5*118.8*122.7*126.3*120.7*128.8*+6.7+2.0
Netherlands104.0 106.0 104.8 106.8 110.0*113.2*130.5*115.0*-11.9+1.6
Austria -99.0 101.7 106.7 111.1 116.0 132.2 119.1*-9.9+2.7
Poland103.4 108.6 109.8 116.4 121.3 124.1 118.8 127.6 +7.4+2.8
Portugal105.2*112.4*108.5*109.5*99.4*99.6*95.4*100.0*+4.8+0.4
Romania101.8*111.0*109.2*119.6*128.2*134.1*138.0*141.1*+2.2+5.2
Slovenia109.7*112.6*111.3*113.7*112.7*112.0*103.7*114.3*+10.2+2.1
Slovakia103.7 106.9 111.2 115.8 118.8 121.5*119.4*128.4*+7.5+5.7
Finland103.8*108.4*110.0*114.0*117.8*119.4*126.3*120.4*-4.7+0.8
Sweden100.0 101.7 103.6 106.4 110.4 112.5 118.4*115.5*-2.4+2.7
United Kingdom99.1 101.7 102.8 104.9 105.5 105.9 105.4 107.3*+1.8+1.3
                   
1 Labour Cost Index reference period - 2008
Source: Eurostat Labour Market Database. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/labour-market/labour-costs/database
Working Day Adjusted Labour Cost Index unavailble for Turkey & Norway
* Provisional Estimates
- no data available

Background Notes

Introduction

The Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS) replaced the four-yearly Labour Cost Survey, and also replaced all other CSO short-term earnings inquiries. The EHECS results are comparable across sectors and include more detail on components of earnings and labour costs than was previously available.

 

Legislation  

The survey information was collected by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the S.I. No 140 of 2013 Statistics (Labour Costs Surveys) Order 2013.  The information collected is treated as strictly confidential in accordance with the Statistics Act 1993.  The survey results meet the requirements for Labour Costs statistics set out in Council Regulation (EC) 530/1999.

 

Business Register 

The CSO’s Business Register provides the register of relevant enterprises for the survey. An enterprise is defined as the smallest legally independent unit.

 

Business Classification

The business classification used for the EHECS is based on the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev.2). The NACE code of each enterprise included in the survey was determined from the predominant activity of the enterprise, based on information provided in this or other CSO inquiries.

 

Nace Classification

NACE Rev.2 is the latest classification system for economic activities, updated from NACE Rev 1.1. A major revision of NACE was conducted between 2000 and 2007, in order to ensure that the NACE classification system remained relevant for the economy.  The main changes that affected the release was the reclassification of some industrial enterprises from industry to services (principally in the software and publishing sectors) and the inclusion of air conditioning supply, sewerage, water management and remediation activities in industry.   See web link to NACE coder :-

 http://www.cso.ie/px/u/NACECoder/NACEItems/searchnace.asp

 

Coverage

The  survey  results  relate  to  enterprises  in  the  Nace  Rev  2  Sections  B  –  E  (Industry),  F (Construction), G (Wholesale & retail trade: repair of motor vehicles & motorcycles), H (Transportation & storage), I (Accommodation & food services activities), J (Information & communication), K-L (Financial, insurance & real estate activities), M (Professional, scientific & technical activities), N (Administrative & support services activities), O (Public administration & defence), P (Education), Q (Human health & social work activities) and R-S (Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities) with 3 or more employees.  The data was collected at the enterprise level.

All enterprises with 50 or more employees and a sample of those with 3 to 49 employees are surveyed each quarter. The sample is based on the proportion of companies in each NACE 2 digit economic sectors in the 3 to 49 size classes (3 to 9, 10 to 19 and 20 to 49).

Earnings in the public sector are calculated before the deduction of the pension levy that was introduced in March 2009.

For Q1 and Q2 2011 temporary census field staff are included in all tables due to the large numbers involved.   

Data Collection

The survey is conducted by post and questionnaires are issued in the last week of the relevant quarter. Some returns are received electronically. All returns are scrutinised for accuracy. Where appropriate, firms are queried by post or telephone regarding incompleteness, apparent inconsistencies, etc. Information about the survey is on the CSO website and all questionnaires and instructions are available electronically there.

 

Differences with discontinued sources

The EHECS is not directly comparable with other discontinued short-term earnings surveys such as the Quarterly Industrial Inquiry (QII), the Quarterly Services Inquiry (QSI) and the Quarterly Earnings and Hours worked in Construction (QEC).  The main differences are:

The EHECS collects data on the entire reference quarter while the QII, QSI and QEC only collected data for a reference week in the quarter.

  •   Data on earnings and labour costs per hour is generally presented on the basis of hours paid and worked in the EHECS.  Data on earnings per hour was presented on the basis of hours paid (including paid leave)   in the QII.
  • The EHECS uses a standardised form for all NACE sectors with a standard occupational classification for all enterprises while the QII, QSI and QEC surveys had their own occupational classifications.  However the EHECS category “Production, Craft and other Manual workers” corresponds broadly to the “Industrial” category in the QII; the EHECS category “Clerical, Sales and Service Workers” also corresponds broadly to the QII category “Clerical and other office staff”; the QII category “Managerial and technical staff” is largely equivalent to the EHECS category “Managers, Professional and Associated Professionals”.
  •   The EHECS collects data for enterprises while the QII collected data for local units.
  •   Data on hours is collected for all categories of employees in the EHECS, while such data was limited to the industrial workers in the QII, non-managerial employees in the QEC and not collected at all in the QSI.
  •  The earnings data collected for the EHECS includes irregular earnings, irregular bonuses etc while these items were excluded from the QII, QSI and QEC which only collected data on regular earnings (including regular bonuses) and overtime.
  •   Non-labour costs such as employers PRSI, other social costs, benefit in kind etc., are collected for the EHECS but were not collected for the QII, QSI and QEC surveys.
  •  Data on employees in the QII, QSI and QEC was collected with regard to the reference week. In the EHECS employment data is collected with regard to the first and last day of the quarter.

 

Labour Cost Index (LCI)

The quarterly Labour Cost Index (LCI) shows the short-term development of the total hourly costs incurred by the employers of maintaining their employees. In other words, the LCI measures the costs arising from the production factor 'labour'. The LCI covers the economic activities of industry and services (including public administration). The reference year of the index is 2008. The labour cost index data is collected by EU Member States and is transmitted to Eurostat. In addition to the index numbers, Eurostat provides annual and quarterly growth rates of labour cost. Further labour cost inex information and data is available through the Eurostat website:-
 
 
 
 
Definitions

Employees:

All full-time or part-time workers paid a specific wage or salary or who had a contract of employment are defined as employees.   Persons not working for salary e.g. family members, directors, partners, outside pieceworker’s etc., are not considered employees but other persons engaged.  These workers are included separately but not used in the calculation of derived variables.  All employment figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

 

Part-time Employees:

Part-time employees are defined as those who normally worked less than around 30 hours per week.  These included persons who worked for some whole days per week as well as those who worked for part of the day each day.

 

Apprentices

Apprentices are defined as those whose wages/salaries are governed by the fact that they work either under an apprenticeship contract or as part of a training program.  They are included in the calculation of earnings and hours data.  They were also combined with full-time and part-time employees in determining the size group to which enterprises were classified.

 

Category of employees  by occupation

For some enterprises information was collected separately for three occupational groups. The three groups are:

1. Managers, Administrators, Professionals and Associate Professionals.

2. Clerical, Sales and Service workers.

3. Production, Transport workers, Craft & Tradespersons and other Manual workers.

 

Wages and Salaries

All wages and salaries payments are gross (i.e. before deduction of income tax and employees’ PRSI contributions and levies such as the public sector pension levy).  In the analysis, the total wages and salaries are divided into: 

  •   Regular earnings i.e. pay and allowances paid at each pay period, even if the amount may vary.
  •   Overtime, i.e. payments for working in excess of normal hours, usually paid at a premium.
  •   Irregular bonuses and premiums, pay and allowances not paid at each pay period, i.e. annual or quarterly bonuses etc.

 

Hours

Weekly paid hours include total contracted hours plus overtime hours.

 

Other Costs

The following are the other categories of labour costs:

 

  •   Statutory employers’ PRSI including the social security contributions for apprentices.
  •  Other social costs; which encompass pension fund contributions, life assurance premiums, income continuance insurance as well as other employee-related payments paid by the employer.
  •   Benefits in kind; which include private use of company cars, stock options & share purchase schemes, voluntary sickness insurance, staff housing and other free or subsidised benefits (e.g. canteen facilities,   childcare provision, health costs).
  •   Other labour costs.
  • Redundancy payments.

 

Subsidies and Refunds

These are amounts received by firms under the various state schemes (IDA employment incentive scheme, grants etc.) as well as refunds from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) for sick and maternity leave.  These are deducted from the firms’ labour costs in the analysis.

 

National Minimum Wage (NMW)

The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 became law on the 1st April 2000. Enterprises are asked to indicate the number of employees in receipt of the NMW at the end of each quarter.  A detailed guide to the Act is available from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at www.djei.ie. Employees earning less than the minimum wage due to age or training status are also included.  These rates do not apply to close relatives of the employer or apprentices other than apprentice hairdressers.

 

Derived Variables

Persons Employed

The sum of full-time employees and part-time employees on the last day of the quarter plus the average number of apprentices engaged during the quarter.

 

Average Hourly Earnings

The sum of regular earnings, irregular earnings, and overtime earnings for the quarter divided by total paid hours for the quarter.

 

Average Irregular Earnings

Total irregular earnings in the quarter divided by total paid hours for the quarter.

 

Average Weekly Paid Hours

Total paid hours for the quarter divided by the average number of persons employed during the quarter divided by 13 (number of weeks in a quarter).  Unpaid hours worked (including unpaid overtime) and unpaid leave are excluded.

 

Other  Labour Costs

The sum of other labour costs divided by total paid hours for the quarter. Other labour costs include redundancy payments, employers’ contributions to social security, other social costs, benefit in kind and other labour costs.  Subsidies and refunds received were deducted.

 

Hourly Labour Costs

Hourly labour costs are total labour costs divided by the total number of hours paid during the quarter.

 

Earnings Per Week

Total earnings for the quarter divided by the average number of persons employed during the quarter divided by 13  (number of weeks in a quarter).

 

Annual Data

Annualised results for years 2008 – 2012 are available as a separate release, details of which are available on the CSO website.    

 

 

Methodology for production of final results
 
All enterprises with 50 or more employees are surveyed as well as a sample of enterprises which have between 3 and 49 employees inclusive. The classifications by size of enterprise are based on total persons engaged on the first day of the quarter.

 

Weighting

For enterprises with 3 to 49 employees inclusive, a weighting factor (the reciprocal of the sampling fraction) is used to weight the estimates to the total population for both employees and enterprises. The CSO Business Register forms the basis of the sampling frame used for weighting the sample data to the population.  Decay factors are calculated for each size class and sector to adjust the non-sampled element of the register for the respondent non-relevant enterprises.

 

Imputation

Imputation is carried out for non-respondents in the greater than 50 employees’ categories. Where an enterprise responded in the previous quarter ratio-imputation is used to estimate figures for the current quarter while for enterprises that did not respond in the previous quarter a stratum average imputation method is used to estimate the missing variables. These estimates are based on respondent enterprises of a similar size and activity.

 

Final Estimates 

After imputation, all enterprises with 50 or more employees are accounted for and included in the final dataset.  For those cells where a sample survey of enterprises is used (enterprises employing between 3 and 49 employees), the results are expanded using the grossing factors to cover the entire population for the relevant industries in the quarter.  Macro edits are carried out at this stage and any outliers are investigated and corrected. Coherence of the data is ensured by scrutinising quarter on quarter changes.

 

Interpretation of results

The series presented in this release and all estimates deriving from the EHECS survey are primarily of use as an indicator of trends in average earnings and paid hours of employees across different classifications. However, in interpreting the trends and in undertaking direct comparison of the average level of earnings of different groups of employees or sectors some caution in interpretation is warranted.

In the case of trends, changes in the composition of employees in a given sector or group has an effect on the average levels of earnings and paid hours over time. For example if the proportion of part time employees increases within a sector then it would be expected that the average weekly earnings and paid hours would fall in that sector even if hourly pay rates were unchanged.

In the case of direct comparison of earnings levels estimates are based on raw earnings levels. To get a true picture of differences in earnings levels of different employees comparisons should take account of differences in the characteristics of employees such as length of service, educational attainment level, nature of work  etc., none of which are available via EHECS.  The additional information available from the annual National Employment Survey (NES) allows for a more detailed analysis of differences in earnings levels and should be referred to by users seeking more detailed information on earnings determinants than is available from EHECS.

 

Public Sector Employment
 
There are two CSO surveys which can potentially provide information on public sector employment. The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) can provide estimates based on all respondents who are in employment being asked whether they work in the public sector or not. The EHECS, which is the source of the quarterly Earnings and Labour Costs data, provides estimates based on responses from the employer. Specifically in the case of EHECS there is a response level of close to 80% for public sector employers over time.

Based on the higher response levels and lower levels of subjectivity associated with EHECS the CSO believes it offers a more reliable source for public sector number estimates over time and the CSO publishes data from EHECS as the primary series on public sector numbers.  Table A1 contains the estimates of public sector numbers broken down by the different high level areas within the public sector.

 

Methodology for production of broad occupational category estimates
 
From Q2 2010 a sub-sample of EHECS respondents has been used to generate earnings and hours estimates by three broad occupational categories.

Results are derived by utilising a matched sample of enterprises between consecutive quarters to generate quarterly updates to the previous quarters earnings.  An estimated series is included in table A2.  Given the number of enterprises involved it is only possible to produce reliable estimates when the sectors are grouped. Earnings for the broad occupational groups are therefore presented by the following amalgamations:

 •       B-E                    Industry

•       B-N/R-S             All NACE sectors from Industry to Administrative and support service activities inclusive, plus Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities

•       O-Q                   All NACE sectors from Public administration and defence to Human health and social work activities, inclusive

•       B-S                    All NACE sectors

 

Review of preliminary versus final data
 
A detailed review of preliminary estimates and final data was undertaken to ascertain the extent of change between both sets of results.  The review focused on response rates, scale of revision at NACE sectoral level and significant changes in trends.  The findings of the review indicate that the preliminary figures can be accepted as a suitable indicator for quarterly trends. Analysis of the results for individual NACE sectors highlighted that the change from preliminary to final data was broadly in the range of plus or minus 5%. However, as response rates can impact on the quality of data at the sectoral level, it is advisable to be aware of this when interpreting preliminary results.

 

On a quarterly basis table A4 contains the differences between preliminary and final data for the most recent reported quarter, while table A3 highlights response rates.

 

Public Sector Organisations

Public sector organisations consist of the following:

 

•       Civil Service

•       Defence

•       Garda Síochána

•       Education

•       Regional bodies

•       Health

•       Semi State, both commercial and non-commercial

 

 

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