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For more information on this release:
E-mail: earnings@cso.ie Brian Cahill (+353) 21 4535173 Margaret O'Mahony (+353) 21 4535216 Gerard Brett (+353) 21 4535541
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

Q4 2014 (Final) Q1 2015 (Preliminary Estimates)

QuarterAverage Weekly EarningsAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Weekly HoursAverage Hourly Total Labour Costs
  € €Hours €
Q1 2014692.4322.1431.325.47
Q4 2014702.0622.0431.825.51
Q1 2015*696.0322.2331.325.71
     
Quarterly change %-0.9 +0.9-1.6 +0.8
Annual change %+0.5+0.4-+0.9
* Preliminary Estimates

Average weekly earnings up 0.5% in year to Q1 2015

Average weekly earnings by economic sector
go to full release

Preliminary estimates show that average weekly earnings were €696.03 in Q1 2015, a rise of 0.5% from €692.43 a year earlier. Revised weekly earnings were €702.06 in Q4 2014 and showed an increase of 1.9% over the same period in 2013.  See table 1.

 

Other features of the preliminary results for Q1 2015 include:

  • Average hourly earnings were €22.23 in Q1 2015 compared with €22.14 in Q1 2014, representing an increase of 0.4% over the year.  See table 2.
  • Average weekly paid hours were 31.3 in Q1 2015, showing no change on those recorded in Q1 2014.  See table 3.
  • Average hourly total labour costs stood at €25.71 in Q1 2015, a rise of 0.9% from the Q1 2014 value of €25.47.  See table 6b.
  • Seasonally adjusted average weekly earnings in Q1 2015 were €697.73, a decrease of €0.22 from the previous quarter. See table 4.
  • The job vacancy rate at the end of Q1 2015 was 1.0%, an increase from 0.7% at the end of Q1 2014. See table 7c.

 

New addition to this release include:

  • Seasonally adjusted earnings, and labour costs data are detailed in table 4 of the release and are available in statbank tables EHQ03, EHQ04 and EHQ08. Please see background notes for details of the seasonal adjustment process.
  • Job vacancy numbers and the job vacancy rate are detailed in tables 7b, 7c of the release and in statbank table EHQ16. Please see background notes for the definition of a job vacancy and the job vacancy rate.  

Statbank tables are available here.

 

Unadjusted average weekly earnings increase in 5 of the 13 sectors in year to Q1 2015

Across the economic sectors average weekly earnings increased in 5 of the 13 sectors in the year to Q1 2015, with the largest percentage increase in the Information and communication sector (+5.8%) from €1,037.21 to €1,097.48. The largest percentage sectoral decrease was recorded in the Financial, insurance and real estate sector which saw weekly earning fall from €1,111.19 to €1,059.44 (-4.7%). See table 1.

Weekly average earnings in the private sector showed an increase of 0.6% (+€4.02) from €630.53 to € 634.55 in the year to Q1 2015 compared with an increase of 0.1% (+€1.21) in the public sector (including semi-state sector) from €902.98 to €904.19 See table 1.

Over the 4 year period Q1 2011 to Q1 2015 average weekly earnings across individual sectors show changes ranging between -7.1%, for the Human health and social work sector decreasing from €717.64 to €666.37, and +15.3%, for the Information and communication sector increasing from €952.16 to €1,097.48.  See table 1 and graph below. 

 

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 analysis here and here.

4 Year % change
J15.2621408166695
R-S13.7541338535843
M8.38192419825072
G6.79848922461674
B-E5.40791329522678
O4.72635697261321
F3.20772017376405
K-L2.70967241563176
H2.39610790196849
I2.00052819226197
N1.65023225490994
Total1.37638731101983
P-4.45345103368651
Q-7.14425059918622

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 0.4% to €22.23 in year to Q1 2015

Average hourly earnings increased from €22.14 per hour in Q1 2014 to €22.23 in Q1 2015, representing an increase of 0.4% or €0.09.  This compares with a revised increase of 1.4% in average hourly earnings in the year to Q4 2014 from €21.73 to €22.04 per hour.  See table 2 and figure below.

Seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings increased 1.1% in the quarter to Q1 2015, rising from €21.83 to €22.07. See table 4 and figure below.

X Axis LabelUnadjusted SeriesAdjusted Series
Q10821.5321.4413836453358
Q20821.5121.4431601344546
Q30821.2121.788985071222
Q40822.1721.9606883942399
Q10922.4422.1567547991805
Q20922.0222.10697595153
Q30921.8922.1989981597666
Q40922.4222.1267301862082
Q11022.1122.0211642645301
Q21021.9521.9276458713752
Q31021.6421.8628725611867
Q41022.0721.9132088726717
Q11122.2221.9086402746676
Q21121.921.9643578149847
Q31121.5821.9402267445284
Q41122.0321.9459154622601
Q11222.1521.9664716332145
Q21221.9722.001744852088
Q31221.821.9879964075564
Q41221.8921.9026325726034
Q11322.221.8955200868962
Q21322.0121.8945027782396
Q31321.3621.8979526289783
Q41321.7321.7866723918413
Q11422.1421.6343969093981
Q21421.5321.5696650360778
Q31421.0221.6043945955873
Q41422.0421.8285160746784
Q11522.2322.0709067307836

 

Average hourly earnings increased in 7 of the 13 main sectors in the year to Q1 2015. The largest increase was recorded in the Information and communications sector, increasing 5.9% in the year. The Professional , scientific and technical activities sector saw the largest annual fall in average hourly earings to Q1 2015, decreasing 2.6% from €25.34 to €24.68 per hour. See table 2 and figure below.

X-axis labelQ1 2014Q1 2015
B-E22.8322.56
F19.2519.02
G17.4617.78
H20.2720.59
I12.212.28
J28.8230.51
K-L32.2431.49
M25.3424.68
N16.9917.33
O25.5525.69
P34.3533.79
Q22.3522.08
R-S16.8617.5
All sectors22.1422.23

In the four years to Q1 2015 overall average hourly earnings increased by €0.01 from €22.22. Across the sectors hourly earnings have increased in 9 of the 13 sectors, the largest percentage increase was recorded in the Information and communication sector rising from €26.93 to €30.51 (+13.3%). The largest percentage decrease in average hourly earnings over the same period was recorded in the Human health and social work sector (-6.3%) from €23.56 to €22.08.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees showed an annual decrease of 1.6% in average hourly earnings in Q1 2015, from €18.54 to €18.25. Enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees recorded an increase of 2.3%, from €19.71 to €20.16 in average hourly earnings over the same period.  Results for enterprises with greater than 250 employees showed an increase of 0.6% in the year to Q1 2015 with values rising from €25.51 to €25.66 in average hourly earnings.

Private sector average hourly earnings increased 0.6% from €20.29 to €20.41 in the year to Q1 2015, while public sector hourly earnings fell by 0.4%, from €28.29 to €28.19, in the same period. See table 2.

 

 

Paid hours per week are unchanged in the year to Q1 2015

Average weekly paid hours were 31.3 in Q1 2015, which did not change over the year.  Revised average weekly paid hours were 31.8 in Q4 2014 and showed an increase of 0.3% over the same period in 2013.  Seasonally adjusted average weekly paid hours remained unchanged at 31.7 in the quarter to Q1 2015. In the four years to Q1 2015 average weekly paid hours show an increase of 1.3% from 30.9 in Q1 2011.  See table 3, table 4 and figure below.

X Axis LabelUnadjusted SeriesAdjusted Series
Q10832.732.8353705544876
Q20832.832.8275257537756
Q30832.932.6655232536367
Q40832.532.3134495558032
Q10931.632.0947799941987
Q20931.931.9286393541544
Q30931.931.6419168483363
Q4093231.6109267735426
Q1103131.685647322109
Q21031.631.629169175927
Q31032.131.6399475054532
Q41031.831.5719933030423
Q11130.931.418568856511
Q21131.431.4258404275327
Q31131.931.607247111823
Q41131.731.6978963517599
Q11231.531.607205234219
Q21231.531.5153417393999
Q31231.731.5111313613727
Q41231.631.5311601637378
Q11331.231.5632120470076
Q21331.631.6009647523818
Q31331.731.5697819841987
Q41331.731.5864763494876
Q11431.331.7134021941325
Q21431.831.7852764753994
Q31431.931.7199292926889
Q41431.8531.7178993919668
Q11531.331.7339316273663

The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly paid hours in Q1 2015 was recorded in the Transporting and storage sector (+1.7%), from 34.9 to 35.5 hours.  The largest percentage decrease over the same period was seen in the Administrative and support service activities sector (-4.0%) from 30.0 to 28.8 hours.

Enterprises with less than 50 employees showed a decrease of 0.3% over the year to Q1 2015 from 29.8 to 29.9 hours. Enterprises with between 50 and 250 employees and enterprises with greater than 250 employees both showed no change in the year with average weekly paid hours of 31.3 and 32.3 respectively. See table 3.

 

 

Average hourly total labour costs increase by 0.9% in year to Q1 2015

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 0.9% over the year to Q1 2015.  The largest percentage increase in total labour costs was seen in the Information and communication sector, rising by 6.7% from €34.73 to €37.05 per hour. The Professional, scientific and technical activities sector recorded the largest percentage decrease in total labour costs, decreasing by 3.3% from €29.46 to €28.49.  Seasonally adjusted average hourly total labour costs increased by 0.2% in the quarter to Q1 2015

In the year to Q1 2015 the total labour costs in firms with less than 50 employees decreased by 1.9% (from €21.07 to €20.68), while there was a 3.8% increase in total labour costs for firms with 50 to 250 employees (from €22.86 to €23.72). Enterprises with 250 plus employees recorded an increase of 1.2% over the same period (from €29.44 to €29.80). See table 6b.

Public sector total labour costs decreased by 0.1% in the year to Q1 2015, decreasing from €31.20 to €31.17 while the private sector recorded an increase in total labour costs of 1.3% from €23.74 to €24.04 in the year.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 1.5% over the four years to Q1 2015 from €25.32 per hour to €25.71. The percentage changes across the sectors ranged from -4.6% in the Human health and social work activities sector (from €25.68 to €24.51) and the Education sector (from  €39.02 to €37.23) to +16.1% in the Information and communication sector (from €31.90 to €37.05).  See table 6b and graph below.

X-axis label4 year % change
J16.1442006269592
R-S15.5815247634947
G7.56302521008405
K-L5.16232038318256
B-E3.92600981502456
H3.74677002583981
N3.59375000000002
M1.78635226866739
Total1.54028436018958
F-0.373308446103582
I-1.02115244347192
O-1.41743444365697
Q-4.55607476635513
P-4.58739108149668

 

Average weekly earnings increase 0.1% across the public sector in year to Q1 2015 

Average weekly earnings increased by 0.1% across the public sector in year to Q1 2015.  Of the 7 public sector sub-sectors 4 recorded increases in average weekly earnings in the same period.

The largest percentage increase was in the Regional bodies sector where earnings rose by 3.2% from €809.20 to €835.20 per week. The largest percentage decrease was in the Semi-state sector, where weekly earnings dropped by 1.6% over the year, from €992.01 to €975.69.  See tables 8a and graph below.

 

X-axis labelQ1 2014Q1 2015
Civil service925.06919.45
Defence805.43807.81
Garda Siochana1227.641235.62
Education906.04899.95
Regional bodies809.2835.2
Health851.64858.66
Semi-state992.01975.69
All sectors902.98904.19

Annual decrease of 0.2% in public sector employment in Q1 2015

The estimated number of persons employed in the public sector showed a reduction of 0.2% over the year to Q1 2015 from 375,500 to 374,600. 

In the year to Q1 2015 the largest percentage employment decrease was recorded in the Regional Bodies sector (-3.3%), a fall of 1,100 from Q1 2014. The largest percentage increase over the same period was recorded in the Health sector, increasing 0.8% from 118,700 to 119,600 people employed. See table 8e and figure below.

Over the four years from Q1 2011 to Q1 2015 overall employment numbers in the public sector fell by 34,800 (-8.5%) from 409,400 to 374,600. See table 8e

 

X-axis labelQ1 2014Q1 2015
Civil service3870038100
Defence97009700
Garda Siochana1300012800
Education111200111200
Regional bodies3300031900
Health118700119600
Semi-state5120051300

Table 8e 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.

 

 

Job vacancy rate increases to 1.0% in Q1 2015

The job vacancy rate at the end of Q1 2015 was 1.0%, increasing from 0.7% a year earlier. In Q1 2015 the Information and communication sector had the highest vacancy rate of 2.7%, followed by the Financial, insurance and real estate sector with a vacancy rate of 2.3%. The Industry sector had the lowest vacancy rate of 0.5% at the end of Q1 2015. See table 7c and figure below.

The number of job vacancies at the end of Q1 2015 was 16,200, an increase of 4,900 on the vacancies recorded at the end of Q1 2014. See table 7b .

 

 

QuarterJob Vacancy Rate
Q1081
Q2080.9
Q3080.7
Q4080.5
Q1090.4
Q2090.4
Q3090.3
Q4090.3
Q1100.4
Q2100.5
Q3100.5
Q4100.5
Q1110.5
Q2110.6
Q3110.5
Q4110.5
Q1120.6
Q2120.5
Q3120.6
Q4120.6
Q1130.6
Q2130.7
Q3130.7
Q4130.7
Q1140.7
Q2140.7
Q3140.8
Q4140.7
Q1151

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 Activity20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
          
            
  %%
            
B-EIndustry808.26831.18823.54863.87855.90851.97-3.93 -0.5 -11.90 -1.4
FConstruction665.27655.13639.35698.79754.14686.61-67.53 -9.0 -12.18 -1.7
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles495.11518.08518.22519.22527.33528.77+1.44+0.3+9.55+1.8
HTransportation and storage713.24708.73722.58706.39755.91730.33-25.58 -3.4 +23.94+3.4
IAccommodation and food services302.92297.22292.89309.55325.45308.98-16.47 -5.1 -0.57 -0.2
JInformation and communication952.161,042.341,038.701,037.211,031.341,097.48+66.14+6.4+60.27+5.8
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,031.491,021.971,044.811,111.191,076.111,059.44-16.67 -1.5 -51.75 -4.7
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities740.88856.81826.32829.51791.54802.98+11.44+1.4-26.53 -3.2
NAdministrative and support services 490.84491.10506.19510.02500.00498.94-1.06 -0.2 -11.08 -2.2
OPublic administration and defence889.48936.40940.81920.93921.53931.52+9.99+1.1+10.59+1.1
PEducation831.49828.10814.12802.17804.18794.46-9.72 -1.2 -7.71 -1.0
QHuman health and social work717.64711.88688.90667.76678.90666.37-12.53 -1.8 -1.39 -0.2
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities420.31468.45483.24461.57487.28478.12-9.16 -1.9 +16.55+3.6
            
Total 686.58696.67692.54692.43702.06696.03-6.03 -0.9 +3.60+0.5
            
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector610.56623.89623.65630.53641.35634.55-6.80 -1.1 +4.02+0.6
Public sector1893.82917.46915.61902.98910.95904.19-6.76 -0.7 +1.21+0.1
            
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees519.82535.57533.31552.40551.28545.45-5.83 -1.1 -6.95 -1.3
50-250 employees643.39654.38651.57617.32649.01631.39-17.62 -2.7 +14.07+2.3
Greater than 250 employees821.41824.89827.98824.90831.43829.31-2.12 -0.3 +4.41+0.5
            
1 Average weekly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8a.       
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1    
NACE Principal Activity20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
          
            
  %%
            
B-EIndustry22.1022.2722.0622.8322.3322.56+0.23+1.0-0.27 -1.2
FConstruction18.9718.5518.3219.2519.9619.02-0.94 -4.7 -0.23 -1.2
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles16.6017.0717.3317.4617.3617.78+0.42+2.4+0.32+1.8
HTransportation and storage19.7119.9620.2520.2720.9620.59-0.37 -1.8 +0.32+1.6
IAccommodation and food services12.3712.1012.0612.2012.4612.28-0.18 -1.4 +0.08+0.7
JInformation and communication26.9328.8228.3928.8228.4130.51+2.10+7.4+1.69+5.9
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate30.9230.1730.7032.2431.1731.49+0.32+1.0-0.75 -2.3
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities24.0826.1725.3325.3424.5124.68+0.17+0.7-0.66 -2.6
NAdministrative and support services 16.8115.9416.9416.9916.6217.33+0.71+4.3+0.34+2.0
OPublic administration and defence26.3026.4126.5125.5525.5025.69+0.19+0.7+0.14+0.5
PEducation35.9635.4735.2534.3534.3733.79-0.58 -1.7 -0.56 -1.6
QHuman health and social work23.5623.3122.8422.3522.1822.08-0.10 -0.5 -0.27 -1.2
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities15.7316.6417.2216.8617.3817.50+0.12+0.7+0.64+3.8
            
Total 22.2222.1522.2022.1422.0422.23+0.19+0.9+0.09+0.4
            
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector19.7619.8820.0620.2920.2020.41+0.21+1.0+0.12+0.6
Public sector 128.9028.9629.0428.2928.2928.19-0.10 -0.4 -0.10 -0.4
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees17.5317.7317.8918.5418.2918.25-0.04 -0.2 -0.29 -1.6
50-250 employees20.2820.5220.5819.7119.8520.16+0.31+1.6+0.45+2.3
Greater than 250 employees26.0525.6325.8225.5125.3825.66+0.28+1.1+0.15+0.6
            
1 Average hourly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8b.     
* Preliminary Estimates          
Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1
NACE Principal Activity20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
          
       
  hourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
          
B-EIndustry36.637.337.337.838.337.8-0.5 -1.3 --
FConstruction35.135.334.936.337.836.1-1.7 -4.5 -0.2 -0.6
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles29.830.329.929.730.429.7-0.7 -2.3 --
HTransportation and storage36.235.535.734.936.135.5-0.6 -1.7 +0.6+1.7
IAccommodation and food services24.524.624.325.426.125.2-0.9 -3.4 -0.2 -0.8
JInformation and communication35.436.236.636.036.336.0-0.3 -0.8 --
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate33.433.934.034.534.533.6-0.9 -2.6 -0.9 -2.6
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities30.832.732.632.732.332.5+0.2+0.6-0.2 -0.6
NAdministrative and support services 29.230.829.930.030.128.8-1.3 -4.3 -1.2 -4.0
OPublic administration and defence33.835.535.536.036.136.3+0.2+0.6+0.3+0.8
PEducation23.123.323.123.423.423.5+0.1+0.4+0.1+0.4
QHuman health and social work30.530.530.229.930.630.2-0.4 -1.3 +0.3+1.0
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities26.728.228.127.428.027.3-0.7 -2.5 -0.1 -0.4
            
Total 30.931.531.231.331.831.3-0.5 -1.6 --
            
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector30.931.431.131.131.731.1-0.6 -1.9 --
Public sector130.931.731.531.932.232.1-0.1 -0.3 +0.2+0.6
            
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees29.630.229.829.830.129.9-0.2 -0.7 +0.1+0.3
50-250 employees31.731.931.731.332.731.3-1.4 -4.3 --
Greater than 250 employees31.532.232.132.332.832.3-0.5 -1.5 --
            
1 Average weekly paid hours by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8c.     
* Preliminary Estimates        
Table 4 Earnings, hours and Labour Costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by other characteristics and quarter
 Unadjusted Series Seasonally Adjusted Series
QuarterAverage weekly EarningsAverage weekly paid hoursAverage hourly earningsAverage hourly other labour costcAverage hourly total labour costs Average Weekly EarningsAverage weekly paid hoursAverage Hourly EarningsAverage Hourly Other Labour CostAverage Hourly Total Labour Costs
Q108704.2832.721.533.5025.03 702.2132.821.443.4224.77
Q208706.0332.821.513.4024.91 706.3132.821.443.4325.00
Q308696.7232.921.213.4224.63 708.5032.721.793.5325.09
Q408720.5732.522.173.6025.77 711.3232.321.963.5725.49
Q109709.5531.622.443.5926.03 709.5332.122.163.6125.76
Q209701.7331.922.023.6525.66 706.6331.922.113.6425.75
Q309699.1031.921.893.4925.38 706.0331.622.203.6125.85
Q409717.8132.022.423.6426.07 700.6231.622.133.4825.80
Q110686.0231.022.113.3325.45 697.7631.722.023.3525.17
Q210693.0831.621.953.2425.19 693.9931.621.933.2525.26
Q310693.7032.121.643.0824.72 691.8731.621.863.1625.19
Q410701.9331.822.073.2325.30 691.0431.621.913.0925.06
Q111686.5830.922.223.1125.32 690.6231.421.913.0925.02
Q211688.1131.421.903.1125.01 690.8331.421.963.1125.07
Q311687.6731.921.583.0524.63 690.6331.621.943.1425.13
Q411697.6531.722.033.2625.29 690.1131.721.953.2325.06
Q112696.6731.522.153.3725.52 691.3231.621.973.2825.19
Q212692.7531.521.973.2625.23 693.6431.522.003.2725.28
Q312691.9331.721.803.2725.08 693.9731.521.993.3825.63
Q412691.7431.621.893.5425.42 692.5831.521.903.4125.19
Q113692.5431.222.203.4125.62 691.7731.621.903.3725.25
Q213695.5331.622.013.2825.29 691.2831.621.893.3325.33
Q313677.1331.721.363.1624.52 689.9531.621.903.3025.10
Q413688.7831.721.733.6625.39 688.9131.621.793.5625.15
Q114692.4331.322.143.3325.47 687.6331.721.633.2825.08
Q214684.9731.821.533.2824.81 685.1931.821.573.3024.85
Q314670.5331.921.023.2024.22 682.2731.721.603.3424.82
Q414702.0631.822.043.4725.51 697.9531.721.833.4125.25
Q115*696.0331.322.233.4825.71 697.7331.722.073.4425.29
*Preliminary Results
Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter12
NACE Principal Activity20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
          
         
  %%
            
B-EIndustry20.5320.4620.4420.7920.8320.80-0.03 -0.1 +0.01-
FConstruction18.7818.4318.1818.9119.2218.74-0.48 -2.5 -0.17 -0.9
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles15.7116.0816.3916.3716.3516.52+0.17+1.0+0.15+0.9
HTransportation and storage18.8918.7819.1019.4219.6319.61-0.02 -0.1 +0.19+1.0
IAccommodation and food services12.2311.8611.8712.0112.1712.06-0.11 -0.9 +0.05+0.4
JInformation and communication24.2625.2525.0425.4925.6726.23+0.56+2.2+0.74+2.9
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate27.2927.0026.7126.7726.9726.78-0.19 -0.7 +0.01-
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities22.5723.5823.6923.9223.0423.01-0.03 -0.1 -0.91 -3.8
NAdministrative and support services 15.4114.9015.2415.3715.9316.32+0.39+2.4+0.95+6.2
OPublic administration and defence25.0025.1725.2924.3824.4624.49+0.03+0.1+0.11+0.5
PEducation35.3934.9634.6633.9033.8033.39-0.41 -1.2 -0.51 -1.5
QHuman health and social work22.4322.2221.8021.4121.2821.21-0.07 -0.3 -0.20 -0.9
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities15.3915.9616.4116.1616.5916.65+0.06+0.4+0.49+3.0
            
Total 20.9820.8120.8620.6920.7920.81+0.02+0.1+0.12+0.6
            
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector18.5318.5118.6818.7418.9118.89-0.02 -0.1 +0.15+0.8
Public sector227.6627.7127.8127.1727.1427.13-0.01 --0.04 -0.1
            
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees16.9817.0517.2117.5717.5317.45-0.08 -0.5 -0.12 -0.7
50-250 employees18.9818.9619.1018.4318.8218.78-0.04 -0.2 +0.35+1.9
Greater than 250 employees24.3723.9224.0523.6823.7123.82+0.11+0.5+0.14+0.6
            
1 Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings plus the average hourly irregular earnings in Table 5b 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 8d.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1
NACE Principal Activity20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
        
        
  
        
B-EIndustry1.561.811.632.031.501.76+0.26-0.27
FConstruction0.190.120.140.340.730.29-0.44-0.05
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.891.000.941.081.011.26+0.25+0.18
HTransportation and storage0.821.191.140.841.330.98-0.35+0.14
IAccommodation and food services0.140.230.190.180.280.23-0.05+0.05
JInformation and communication2.673.563.353.332.744.28+1.54+0.95
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate3.633.173.995.474.204.71+0.51-0.76
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities1.502.581.641.411.471.67+0.20+0.26
NAdministrative and support services 1.411.041.701.620.691.01+0.32-0.61
OPublic administration and defence1.301.241.221.161.041.20+0.16+0.04
PEducation0.570.520.590.440.560.40-0.16-0.04
QHuman health and social work1.131.091.040.940.900.87-0.03-0.07
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities0.340.680.800.700.790.85+0.06+0.15
          
Total 1.241.341.351.451.261.42+0.16-0.03
          
Public/Private Sector        
          
Private sector1.231.381.381.551.291.52+0.23-0.03
Public sector1.241.241.231.121.151.06-0.09-0.06
          
Size of Enterprise        
          
Less than 50 employees0.550.670.680.970.760.81+0.05-0.16
50-250 employees1.311.561.491.291.041.37+0.33+0.08
Greater than 250 employees1.681.711.771.841.681.84+0.16-
1 Average hourly irregular earnings plus the average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings in Table 5a equal average hourly earnings
as set out in Table 2.        
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 6a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter  
NACE Principal Activity20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
            
  %%
  
B-EIndustry4.395.454.884.635.084.97-0.11 -2.2 +0.34+7.3
FConstruction2.462.242.272.392.712.33-0.38 -14.0 -0.06 -2.5
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles2.442.502.502.692.752.70-0.05 -1.8 +0.01+0.4
HTransportation and storage3.514.433.563.393.653.51-0.14 -3.8 +0.12+3.5
IAccommodation and food services1.331.121.071.271.331.29-0.04 -3.0 +0.02+1.6
JInformation and communication4.976.027.245.926.476.54+0.07+1.1+0.62+10.5
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate6.666.617.397.437.628.04+0.42+5.5+0.61+8.2
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities3.924.044.004.133.823.82---0.31 -7.5
NAdministrative and support services 2.392.192.292.292.322.56+0.24+10.3+0.27+11.8
OPublic administration and defence1.921.992.062.072.072.14+0.07+3.4+0.07+3.4
PEducation3.063.373.493.493.513.44-0.07 -2.0 -0.05 -1.4
QHuman health and social work2.112.332.352.392.382.43+0.05+2.1+0.04+1.7
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities2.243.013.513.092.473.26+0.79+32.0+0.17+5.5
            
Total 3.113.373.413.333.473.48+0.01+0.3+0.15+4.5
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector3.223.533.563.453.603.63+0.03+0.8+0.18+5.2
Public sector2.792.912.952.923.012.98-0.03 -1.0 +0.06+2.1
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees2.222.392.552.532.402.43+0.03+1.3-0.10 -4.0
50-250 employees3.424.303.303.153.463.56+0.10+2.9+0.41+13.0
Greater than 250 employees3.603.714.063.934.184.14-0.04 -1.0 +0.21+5.3
            
* Preliminary Estimates      
Table 6b Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1    
NACE Principal Activity20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
          
          
  %%
           
B-EIndustry26.4927.7226.9427.4527.4127.53+0.12+0.4+0.08+0.3
FConstruction21.4320.7920.6021.6422.6621.35-1.31 -5.8 -0.29 -1.3
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles19.0419.5719.8320.1520.1120.48+0.37+1.8+0.33+1.6
HTransportation and storage23.2224.4023.8023.6624.6224.09-0.53 -2.2 +0.43+1.8
IAccommodation and food services13.7113.2213.1313.4613.7913.57-0.22 -1.6 +0.11+0.8
JInformation and communication31.9034.8435.6334.7334.8837.05+2.17+6.2+2.32+6.7
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate37.5836.7938.0939.6838.7939.52+0.73+1.9-0.16 -0.4
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities27.9930.2029.3329.4628.3328.49+0.16+0.6-0.97 -3.3
NAdministrative and support services 19.2018.1319.2319.2818.9519.89+0.94+5.0+0.61+3.2
OPublic administration and defence28.2228.4028.5727.6227.5727.82+0.25+0.9+0.20+0.7
PEducation39.0238.8438.7437.8337.8737.23-0.64 -1.7 -0.60 -1.6
QHuman health and social work25.6825.6425.1924.7424.5624.51-0.05 -0.2 -0.23 -0.9
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities17.9719.6520.7319.9519.8520.77+0.92+4.6+0.82+4.1
            
Total 25.3225.5225.6225.4725.5125.71+0.20+0.8+0.24+0.9
            
Public/Private Sector          
            
Private sector22.9923.4123.6223.7423.8024.04+0.24+1.0+0.30+1.3
Public sector31.6931.8631.9931.2031.3031.17-0.13 -0.4 -0.03 -0.1
            
Size of Enterprise          
            
Less than 50 employees19.7520.1220.4421.0720.6820.68---0.39 -1.9
50-250 employees23.7124.8323.8822.8623.3123.72+0.41+1.8+0.86+3.8
Greater than 250 employees29.6529.3429.8829.4429.5629.80+0.24+0.8+0.36+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 6a.
* Preliminary Estimates       
Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter1
NACE Principal Activity2012201320142015
    
Q1Q1Q1Q1
    
      
B-EIndustry192,700194,400193,600202,800
FConstruction62,70054,40060,40073,300
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles276,400278,400270,300275,200
HTransportation and storage61,00061,60061,10062,400
IAccommodation and food services120,200126,600140,000139,200
JInformation and communication55,90055,50058,00059,800
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate87,20086,70085,80088,100
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities69,20072,20084,10079,000
NAdministrative and support services 72,80069,30073,20076,100
OPublic administration and defence110,700105,100107,000108,200
PEducation131,700130,900133,400137,500
QHuman health and social work216,600224,900222,900225,000
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities48,70047,00043,90048,200
      
Total 1,505,8001,507,0001,533,8001,574,800
Public/Private Sector    
      
Private sector1,116,8001,129,1001,158,3001,200,200
Public sector389,200378,000375,500374,600
      
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 7b Job Vacancies by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter   
NACE Principal Activity20082009201020112012201320142015
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
         
B-EIndustry1,4007008001,1001,0001,1001,0001,1001,100
FConstruction8004003001005002006002001,100
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles2,7001,5001,4001,3008008001,3001,6002,400
HTransportation and storage600200200200100100300600400
IAccommodation and food services1,7003005004004009006005001,200
JInformation and communication1,8004006009001,0008001,1001,1001,700
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,7004001,1001,5002,3001,8002,1001,6002,100
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities1,3003003005006008001,0008001,400
NAdministrative and support services 1,000300100400500800700600800
OPublic administration and defence1,2001,1004003005005006008001,300
PEducation400300200300300400400400800
QHuman health and social work2,5009007007008001,1001,5001,3001,500
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities700400200600300200300300500
           
Total 17,8007,0006,8008,1009,2009,50011,30010,90016,200
           
           
Public/Private Sector         
           
Private sector14,7004,9005,6007,2008,0008,2009,6009,00013,400
Public sector3,0002,1001,2001,0001,2001,3001,8001,9002,800
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 7c Job Vacancy Rate by economic sector and other characterisics and quarter    
NACE Principal Activitity20082009201020112012201320142015
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
%%%%%%%%%
B-EIndustry0.60.30.40.50.50.50.50.60.5
FConstruction0.50.30.30.10.80.41.00.31.4
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles0.80.50.50.50.30.30.50.60.9
HTransportation and storage0.90.20.30.30.20.20.50.90.6
IAccommodation and food services1.10.30.40.30.30.70.40.40.9
JInformation and communication2.60.71.01.71.71.41.81.82.7
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1.80.41.11.72.62.02.41.82.3
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities1.50.40.40.60.91.01.20.91.7
NAdministrative and support services 1.10.30.20.50.71.21.00.71.0
OPublic administration and defence1.00.90.40.30.50.50.50.71.2
PEducation0.30.30.10.20.30.30.30.30.6
QHuman health and social work1.20.40.30.30.40.50.70.60.7
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities1.40.70.51.10.60.50.60.61.1
         
Total1.00.40.40.50.60.60.70.71.0
         
Private Sector1.10.40.50.60.70.70.80.71.1
Public Sector0.70.50.30.20.30.40.50.50.8
           
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter1     
Public sector sub-sector20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
           
 %%
           
Civil service811.95935.26936.86925.06927.62919.45-8.17-0.9-5.61-0.6
Defence833.86844.68825.97805.43832.52807.81-24.71-3.0+2.38+0.3
Garda Siochana1,234.611,218.261,245.621,227.641,141.981235.62+93.64+8.2+7.98+0.7
Education888.11917.88917.23906.04913.74899.95-13.79-1.5-6.09-0.7
Regional bodies847.06822.18829.38809.20831.98835.20+3.22+0.4+26.00+3.2
Health867.39883.15874.48851.64869.81858.66-11.15-1.3+7.02+0.8
Semi-state992.32982.55977.90992.01987.99975.69-12.30-1.2-16.32-1.6
           
Total public sector893.82917.46915.61902.98910.95904.19-6.76-0.7+1.21+0.1
           
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies879.59907.90906.19888.94898.42892.58-5.84-0.7+3.64+0.4
           
Semi-state by sub-sector          
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies998.691,050.281,021.26974.70961.26971.47+10.21+1.1-3.23-0.3
Commercial Semi-state bodies990.61963.22965.81998.30998.02977.34-20.68-2.1-20.96-2.1
           
* Preliminary Estimates          
1Minor amendments made to Civil Service and Total Public Service earnings due to a review of the estimation process.
Table 8b Average hourly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter1     
Public sector sub-sector20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
           
 %%
           
Civil service26.3126.7526.9625.5725.5525.51-0.04-0.2-0.06-0.2
Defence23.2123.7323.1322.5923.3222.74-0.58-2.5+0.15+0.7
Garda Siochana29.1429.6129.9730.1728.2630.04+1.78+6.3-0.13-0.4
Education38.0538.5238.9338.0137.8437.47-0.37-1.0-0.54-1.4
Regional bodies24.9723.6423.9023.1723.4723.42-0.05-0.2+0.25+1.1
Health26.4326.4426.5425.4425.3025.27-0.03-0.1-0.17-0.7
Semi-state26.4027.2626.9827.0227.2927.10-0.19-0.7+0.08+0.3
           
Total public sector 28.9028.9629.0428.2928.2928.19-0.10-0.4-0.10-0.4
           
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies29.3529.2529.4128.5228.4728.40-0.07-0.2-0.12-0.4
           
Semi-state by sub-sector          
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.3230.4130.4728.0628.3128.26-0.05-0.2+0.20+0.7
Commercial Semi-state bodies25.7126.4026.1026.6626.9426.68-0.26-1.0+0.02+0.1
           
* Preliminary Estimates          
1Minor amendments made to Civil Service and Total Public Service earnings due to a review of the estimation process.
Table 8c Average weekly paid hours by public sector sub-sector and quarter1     
Public sector sub-sector20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
           
 hourshourshourshourshourshourshours%hours%
           
Civil service30.935.034.736.236.336.0-0.3-0.8-0.2-0.6
Defence35.935.635.735.635.735.5-0.2-0.6-0.1-0.3
Garda Siochana42.441.141.640.740.441.1+0.7+1.7+0.4+1.0
Education23.323.823.623.824.124.0-0.1-0.4+0.2+0.8
Regional bodies33.934.834.734.935.535.7+0.2+0.6+0.8+2.3
Health32.833.433.033.534.434.0-0.4-1.2+0.5+1.5
Semi-state37.636.036.236.736.236.0-0.2-0.6-0.7-1.9
           
Total public sector 30.931.731.531.932.232.1-0.1-0.30.20.6
           
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies30.031.030.831.231.631.4-0.2-0.60.20.6
           
Semi-state by sub-sector          
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies34.134.533.534.734.034.40.41.2-0.3-0.9
Commercial Semi-state bodies38.536.537.037.437.036.6-0.4-1.1-0.8-2.1
           
* Preliminary Estimates          
1Minor amendments made to Civil Service and Total Public Service earnings due to a review of the estimation process.
Table 8d Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter12
Public sector sub-sector20112012201320142015Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
           
 %%
    
Civil service25.7926.2426.4725.0924.9725.02+0.05+0.2-0.07-0.3
Defence22.2522.7822.2021.8921.8922.08+0.19+0.9+0.19+0.9
Garda Siochana24.3424.5025.0025.0324.9324.92-0.01--0.11-0.4
Education37.4437.9438.3737.6737.2737.10-0.17-0.5-0.57-1.5
Regional bodies24.1523.0023.2522.4822.6522.69+0.04+0.2+0.21+0.9
Health24.8624.8724.9224.0223.9523.94-0.01--0.08-0.3
Semi-state25.3026.0125.8825.8225.8026.11+0.31+1.2+0.29+1.1
           
Total public sector 27.6627.7127.8127.1727.1427.13-0.01--0.04-0.1
          
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies28.0928.0028.1627.4227.3927.32-0.07-0.3-0.10-0.4
           
Semi-state by sub-sector          
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies29.1930.2830.2827.9327.9527.95--+0.02+0.1
Commercial Semi-state bodies24.3724.8524.7725.1125.0725.45+0.38+1.5+0.34+1.4
           
1 To calculate average hourly irregular earnings subtract values in Table 8d from Table 8b.      
2Minor amendments made to Civil Service and Total Public Service earnings due to a review of the estimation process.
* Preliminary Estimates
Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter1 
Public sector sub-sector20112012201320142015Annual change
Q1Q1Q1Q1Q4Q1*
        
         
  '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000 '000%
         
Civil service44.539.739.238.738.238.1-0.6-1.6
Defence10.39.89.89.79.89.7--
Garda Siochana14.313.713.313.012.812.8-0.2-1.5
Education117.7111.9110.3111.2110.8111.2--
Regional bodies34.633.932.133.032.231.9-1.1-3.3
Health132.9128.8123.6118.7118.6119.6+0.9+0.8
Semi-state55.151.449.751.251.751.3+0.1+0.2
         
Total public sector409.4389.2378.0375.5374.1374.6-0.9-0.2
         
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies354.3337.8328.3324.3322.4323.3-1.0-0.3
Semi-state by sub-sector        
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies11.110.19.812.612.412.2-0.4-3.2
Commercial Semi-state bodies44.041.339.938.639.339.1+0.5+1.3
        
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 A1 Estimates of average weekly earnings by broad occupational categories1 
 201220132014Quarterly changeAnnual change
Occupation with certain    
 NACE groupsQ4Q4Q3Q4
       
Managers, professionals and associated professionals             % %
       
B-E1,362.151,438.181,376.531,454.07+5.6+1.1
B-N, R-S1,210.671,256.411,216.311,259.83+3.6+0.3
O-Q1,108.681,102.061,087.361,153.66+6.1+4.7
       
Total (B-S)1134.811170.031134.441,173.25+3.4+0.3
       
       
Clerical, sales and service employees      
       
B-E738.26767.71765.63721.50-5.8-6.0
B-N, R-S446.78446.72465.08457.90-1.5+2.5
O-Q546.22537.33534.60516.10-3.5-4.0
       
Total (B-S)475.96475.14492.23468.33-4.9-1.4
       
       
Production, transport, craft and other manual workers      
       
B-E594.90627.04684.27693.51+1.4+10.6
B-N, R-S557.27494.17509.89508.92-0.2+3.0
O-Q446.74455.58427.53436.25+2.0-4.2
       
Total (B-S)541.84489.05499.66495.87-0.8+1.4
       
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 A2 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter1
NACE Principal ActivityEmployer Response Rate % Employee Response Rate %  
   
Final Q4 2013Preliminary Q4 2014 Final Q4 2014Preliminary Q1 2015 Final Q4 2013Preliminary Q4 2014 Final Q4 2014Preliminary Q1 2015 Total number of respondent enterprises in Q1 2015
    
    
               
B-EIndustry64.555.7 65.258.5 85.374.2 84.878.8 648
FConstruction42.536.4 44.637.5 72.868.7 74.658.6 97
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles59.853.7 62.653.2 80.775.2 81.373.5 712
HTransportation and storage53.245.5 55.143.4 88.883.0 87.472.6 116
IAccommodation and food services46.840.8 47.842.8 66.656.6 66.456.7 365
JInformation and communication71.659.9 66.161.2 89.685.5 87.683.0 194
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate69.363.2 70.959.0 93.290.5 92.983.4 191
MProfessional, scientific and technical activites62.350.7 59.054.1 79.063.6 80.868.6 240
NAdministrative and support service activities66.256.3 63.555.8 81.177.6 83.576.1 216
OPublic administration and defence99.390.8 91.589.2 99.997.8 98.095.7 116
PEducation71.366.4 69.468.1 96.090.5 92.391.0 171
QHuman health and social work77.470.3 76.171.6 95.391.4 94.290.9 519
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities66.157.3 64.156.3 86.476.9 82.476.2 232
               
Total 63.055.3 62.954.7 88.081.9 87.173.9 3,817
               
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 A3 Preliminary data versus final data1
NACE Principal ActivityPreliminary Q4 2014 Final Q4 2014 Percentage Change
Average weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hours Average weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hours Average weekly earningsAverage hourly earningsAverage weekly hours
  
  
             
  hours hours %%%
         
B-EIndustry861.2722.5138.3 855.9022.3338.3 -0.6 -0.8 -
FConstruction746.1019.8137.7 754.1419.9637.8 +1.1+0.8+0.3
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles533.7217.5830.4 527.3317.3630.4 -1.2 -1.3 -
HTransportation and storage764.2121.0436.3 755.9120.9636.1 -1.1 -0.4 -0.6
IAccommodation and food services327.9912.4026.4 325.4512.4626.1 -0.8 +0.5-1.1
JInformation and communication1,048.6128.7336.5 1,031.3428.4136.3 -1.6 -1.1 -0.5
K-LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,069.5631.1634.3 1,076.1131.1734.5 +0.6-+0.6
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities787.5124.6032.0 791.5424.5132.3 +0.5-0.4 +0.9
NAdministrative and support service activities508.0316.8730.1 500.0016.6230.1 -1.6 -1.5 -
OPublic administration and defence921.6525.5036.1 921.5325.5036.1 ---
PEducation800.8034.3823.3 804.1834.3723.4 +0.4-+0.4
QHuman health and social work682.5322.2030.7 678.9022.1830.6 -0.5 -0.1 -0.3
R-SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities485.2317.2128.2 487.2817.3828.0 +0.4+1.0-0.7
             
Total 704.3422.1131.9 702.0622.0431.8 -0.3 -0.3 -0.3
             
Public/Private Sector           
             
Private sector643.4420.2631.8 641.3520.2031.7 -0.3 -0.3 -0.3
Public sector910.8728.3132.2 910.9528.2932.2 --0.1 -
             
Size of Enterprise           
             
Less than 50 employees560.9118.5030.3 551.2818.2930.1 -1.7 -1.1 -0.7
50-250 employees640.5919.6632.6 649.0119.8532.7 +1.3+1.0+0.3
Greater than 250 employees833.0825.4832.7 831.4325.3832.8 -0.2 -0.4 +0.3
           
1 See background notes.

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:-

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/labour-market/labour-costs/database

 

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.

 

Job Vacancies

Respondents are asked to provide the number of job vacancies in their firm as at the last working day of the quarter. A job vacancy is defined as a newly created post, an unoccupied post or post about to become vacant in the near future, where the employer is actively looking for (i.e. advertising, contacting employment agencies, etc.) and willing to recruit a suitable candidate immediately or very soon. The posts must be open to external candidates, although it may be filled by an internal candidate. Due to one off recruitments by individual firms and a low number of firms reporting vacancies, the job vacancies series can be volatile and should be interpreted with caution.

 

Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate (JVR) measures the proportion of total posts that are vacant, according to the definition of job vacancy above, expressed as a percentage as follows

Job Vacancy Rate = ( Number of job vacancies / Number òf occupied jobs + Number of job vacancies ) * 100

 

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.

 

Seasonal Adjustment

 

To correct for typical seasonal patterns, the series presented in Table 3 have been seasonally adjusted. Since Quarter 1 2015 seasonal adjustment of earnings and labour costs data is completed by applying the X-13-ARIMA model, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau.

 

Seasonal adjustment is conducted using the direct approach, where each individual series (average weekly earnings, average weekly hours worked, average hourly earnings, average hourly irregular earnings, average hourly other labour costs and average hourly total labour costs)  is independently adjusted for each sector.

 

As a result of the direct seasonal adjustment approach employed, it should be noted that the sum of any component series may not be equal to seasonally adjusted series to which these components belong. For example, the seasonally adjusted average hourly earnings and seasonally adjusted other labour costs will not necessarily add up to the seasonally adjusted average total labour costs.

 

The X-13 ARIMA method has the X-11 moving averages process at its core, but builds on this by providing options for pre-treating the series using a regARIMA approach for prior adjustment and series extension. In essence this methodology will estimate seasonal factors while taking account of calendar effects (e.g timing of Easter), outliers, temporary changes and level shifts.

 

All earnings series are updated quarterly with the entire seasonally adjusted series from Q1 2008 as part of the concurrent approach. A comprehensive review of the seasonal adjustment specification is carried annually where revisions to the entire series are made. Revisions to the series are typically very minor in scale.

 

 

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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