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Earnings and Labour Costs Q3 2024 (Final) Q4 2024 (Preliminary Estimates)

Average weekly earnings up 5.6% to €979.71 in the 12 months to Q4 2024

Online ISSN: 2009-5023

CSO statistical release, 25 February 2025, 11am

Key Findings

Average weekly earnings were €979.71 in Quarter 4 (Q4) 2024, up 5.6% from €927.98 in Q4 2023.
Average hourly earnings rose by 6.2% to €30.21 in Q4 2024, from €28.44 in Q4 2023.
Average weekly paid hours were 32.4 in Q4 2024, down by 0.6% from the Q4 2023 hours of 32.6.
The job vacancy rate at the end of Q4 2024 was 1.1%, slightly lower than the 1.2% recorded at the end of Q4 2023 and 1.2% at the end of Q3 2024.
Average hourly other labour costs grew by 5.8% to €5.31 in Q4 2024, from €5.02 in Q4 2023.
The highest averages for hourly total labour costs in Q4 2024 were €59.77 in Information & Communication, and €48.65 in Education.
The Public Administration & Defence sector had the highest job vacancy rate at 3.4% in Q4 2024, followed by 2.0% in the Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities sector.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (25 February 2025) published Earnings and Labour costs results with Preliminary estimates for Quarter 4 (Q4) 2024 and Final estimates for Q3 2024.

Commenting on the release, Louise Egan, Statistician in the Earnings Analysis Division, said: “Average earnings in the economy continue to increase year on year, driven by a number of factors, including a stable job vacancy rate for the past 18 months as well as annual employment growth of 2.6% according to the latest CSO Labour Force Survey. Preliminary estimates for October, November and December (Q4) 2024 show average weekly earnings were €979.71, up 5.6% compared with €927.98 in Q4 2023.

Earnings and Hours

Average weekly earnings rose across all 13 sectors in the year to Q4 2024. The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly earnings in Q4 2024 was 6.6% in the Information & Communication sector, with the second largest increase of 6.5% seen in the Education sector.

Average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 6.2% to €30.21, while average weekly paid hours decreased by 0.6% from 32.6 in Q4 2023 to 32.4 in Q4 2024. Over the five years from Q4 2019 to Q4 2024, average hourly earnings went up by 24.7% from €24.23 to €30.21.

Labour Costs

Average hourly other labour costs rose by 5.8% across all economic sectors to €5.31 in Q4 2024 from €5.02 in Q4 2023, while average hourly total labour costs grew by 6.1% in the same period.

The sector with the highest average hourly total labour costs in Q4 2024 was the Information & Communication sector at €59.77. The lowest average total labour costs were in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, which recorded a rate of €18.66.

Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate in Q4 2024, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter, was 1.1%, which was down from 1.2% at both the end of Q3 2024, and the end of Q4 2023."

Preliminary Estimates Q4 2024

Headline Table: Earnings, Hours and Labour Costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted
	Average Weekly Earnings	Average Hourly Earnings	Average Hourly Total Labour Costs	Average Weekly Paid Hours
	€	€	€	Hours
	Unadjusted
Q4 2023	927.98	28.44	33.47	32.6
Q4 2024	979.71	30.21	35.52	32.4
Annual % change	5.6	6.2	6.1	-0.6
	Seasonally Adjusted
Q3 2024	974.55	30.04	35.25	32.5
Q4 2024	984.08	30.31	35.62	32.4
Quarterly % change	1.0	0.9	1.0	-0.3

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q4 2024 HLT (XLS 10KB)

Editor's Note

While there is no internationally agreed methodology for assessing the public/private sector wage gap, the CSO has published analysis of the differential using a matched Labour Force Survey and PAYE Modernisation (PMOD) dataset for 2019-2022. This analysis took account of compositional differences between the public and private sector, such as occupational mix, sectors of activity, gender balance, union membership, etc. The public sector pay gap in 2022 was estimated to range from -6.6% to +0.9% depending on the specification applied and the treatment of the additional superannuation contribution.

For the most recent analysis, see Econometric Analysis of the Public-Private Sector Pay Differential 2022. For previous analysis see Public-Private Sector Pay Differential.

Earnings and Hours

Average weekly earnings were €979.71 in Q4 2024, an increase of 5.6% when compared with €927.98 from one year earlier, according to preliminary estimates of the Earnings and Labour Costs quarterly release.

The largest annual percentage increase in Q4 2024 in average weekly earnings was 6.6% in the Information & Communication sector, rising from €1,581.02 to €1,685.13. The second largest increase was 6.5% in the Education sector which rose from €990.83 to €1,055.47 over the year.

In the five years to Q4 2024, average weekly earnings rose by 24.6%. All sectors saw increases in average weekly earnings over this period.

Average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 6.2% to €30.21 in Q4 2024, while average weekly paid hours decreased slightly from 32.6 in Q4 2023 to 32.4 in Q4 2024. Over the five years from Q4 2019 to Q4 2024, average hourly earnings rose by 24.7% from €24.23 to €30.21, while average paid hours have remained the same at 32.4 hours.

	5 Year % Change
Information & communication	35.8964847057685
Arts & entertainment	27.6649066421794
All sectors	24.5879749732947
Health & social	24.4906383998722
Professional & technical	24.1701830576688
Industry	22.4082716710568
Admin & support service	21.2704400505107
Education	19.7560560503773
Public admin & defence	19.0437178056099
Wholesale & retail	18.7108117971005
Accommodation & food	18.0276415044575
Construction	17.8142947170664
Financial & real estate	17.5903401300367
Transportation	12.2035495523795

	Q4 2023	Q4 2024
Industry	27.98	29.34
Construction	25.58	27.73
Wholesale & retail	22.45	23.8
Transportation	23.36	25.67
Accommodation & food	16.2	16.8
Information & communication	42.06	45.52
Financial & real estate	37.8	38.32
Professional & technical	33.09	35.1
Admin & support service	23.16	24.37
Public admin & defence	31.12	32.32
Education	41.41	43.49
Health & social	27.73	28.97
Arts & entertainment	22.14	22.86
All sectors	28.44	30.21

X-axis label	Unadjusted	Seasonally Adjusted
Q417	22.6	22.6
Q118	23.4	22.84
Q218	22.94	22.97
Q318	22.62	23.17
Q418	23.31	23.31
Q119	24.05	23.45
Q219	23.69	23.71
Q319	23.54	24.16
Q419	24.23	24.23
Q120	24.76	24.11
Q220	25.38	25.39
Q320	24.38	25.06
Q420	25.57	25.58
Q121	26.84	26.11
Q221	26.08	26.07
Q321	25.31	26.04
Q421	26.29	26.31
Q122	27.46	26.7
Q222	26.76	26.74
Q322	26.23	26.98
Q422	27.9	27.94
Q123	28.55	27.74
Q223	28.19	28.15
Q323	27.84	28.63
Q423	28.44	28.5
Q124	29.96	29.11
Q224	29.75	29.7
Q324	29.23	30.04
Q424	30.21	30.31

X-axis label	Unadjusted	Seasonally Adjusted
Q417	32.4	32.2
Q118	31.8	32.3
Q218	32.5	32.5
Q318	32.8	32.5
Q418	32.4	32.4
Q119	32.1	32.4
Q219	32.6	32.6
Q319	32.7	32.5
Q419	32.4	32.4
Q120	32.3	32.4
Q220	32.2	32.2
Q320	32.6	32.4
Q420	33.1	32.7
Q121	32.1	32.8
Q221	32.6	32.7
Q321	33.1	32.5
Q421	32.9	32.7
Q122	32.3	32.8
Q222	32.6	32.7
Q322	33.1	32.7
Q422	32.4	32.5
Q123	32.4	32.6
Q223	32.4	32.4
Q323	32.6	32.5
Q423	32.6	32.5
Q124	32.5	32.5
Q224	32.4	32.5
Q324	32.7	32.5
Q424	32.4	32.4

Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 1 Average weekly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	914.93	969.90	981.33	1,016.40	1,063.98	1,078.98	1,119.95	40.97	3.8	55.97	5.3
F	Construction	841.01	888.54	916.08	940.24	947.70	1,010.02	990.83	-19.19	-1.9	43.13	4.6
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	602.86	635.24	659.06	652.08	682.17	698.55	715.66	17.11	2.4	33.49	4.9
H	Transportation and storage	827.71	799.32	808.07	867.79	893.14	916.43	928.72	12.29	1.3	35.58	4.0
I	Accommodation and food services	379.14	391.21	391.15	409.23	438.66	447.14	447.49	0.35	0.1	8.83	2.0
J	Information and communication	1,240.01	1,308.68	1,376.70	1,516.16	1,581.02	1,651.31	1,685.13	33.82	2.0	104.11	6.6
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	1,130.45	1,182.89	1,227.05	1,263.49	1,313.57	1,302.99	1,329.30	26.31	2.0	15.73	1.2
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	974.01	1,039.96	1,087.90	1,091.23	1,144.02	1,141.58	1,209.43	67.85	5.9	65.41	5.7
N	Administrative and support services	625.61	654.70	686.20	696.87	749.22	737.23	758.68	21.45	2.9	9.46	1.3
O	Public administration and defence	976.49	1,010.73	1,011.61	1,132.45	1,119.80	1,146.43	1,162.45	16.02	1.4	42.65	3.8
P	Education	881.35	906.26	927.10	999.05	990.83	1,047.08	1,055.47	8.39	0.8	64.64	6.5
Q	Human health and social work	750.94	787.82	806.35	866.85	887.91	927.79	934.85	7.06	0.8	46.94	5.3
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	522.72	556.55	592.75	591.01	646.98	626.61	667.33	40.72	6.5	20.35	3.1
All Sectors		786.36	847.54	864.63	904.69	927.98	956.56	979.71	23.15	2.4	51.73	5.6
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		726.18	792.92	815.66	835.52	870.10	888.24	911.64	23.40	2.6	41.54	4.8
Public sector²		990.98	1,021.27	1,023.27	1,133.91	1,119.37	1,176.52	1,190.86	14.34	1.2	71.49	6.4
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		631.21	679.28	703.62	708.87	760.16	765.06	785.60	20.54	2.7	25.44	3.3
50-250 employees		731.48	809.59	816.66	834.87	847.29	864.74	892.97	28.23	3.3	45.68	5.4
Greater than 250 employees		913.22	966.09	978.63	1,046.98	1,053.47	1,096.13	1,113.39	17.26	1.6	59.92	5.7
¹ For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
² Average weekly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8a.

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q4 2024 Table 1 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 2 Average hourly earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	23.98	24.73	25.52	26.75	27.98	28.43	29.34	0.91	3.2	1.36	4.9
F	Construction	22.74	23.27	23.75	25.01	25.58	27.36	27.73	0.37	1.4	2.15	8.4
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	19.80	20.38	21.20	21.52	22.45	22.51	23.80	1.29	5.7	1.35	6.0
H	Transportation and storage	23.66	22.01	22.48	23.96	23.36	24.86	25.67	0.81	3.3	2.31	9.9
I	Accommodation and food services	13.67	15.66	14.94	15.41	16.20	16.84	16.80	-0.04	-0.2	0.60	3.7
J	Information and communication	33.64	35.35	37.25	40.54	42.06	44.57	45.52	0.95	2.1	3.46	8.2
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	32.46	33.88	35.18	36.30	37.80	37.65	38.32	0.67	1.8	0.52	1.4
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	28.26	29.65	30.83	31.57	33.09	33.24	35.10	1.86	5.6	2.01	6.1
N	Administrative and support services	19.27	20.44	21.24	21.78	23.16	23.45	24.37	0.92	3.9	1.21	5.2
O	Public administration and defence	26.56	27.05	28.19	31.93	31.12	31.85	32.32	0.47	1.5	1.20	3.9
P	Education	36.91	37.46	38.65	42.85	41.41	43.98	43.49	-0.49	-1.1	2.08	5.0
Q	Human health and social work	23.69	24.37	24.80	27.74	27.73	28.17	28.97	0.80	2.8	1.24	4.5
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	18.85	19.53	20.60	20.97	22.14	21.74	22.86	1.12	5.2	0.72	3.3
All Sectors		24.23	25.57	26.29	27.90	28.44	29.23	30.21	0.98	3.4	1.77	6.2
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		22.40	23.83	24.61	25.61	26.49	27.09	27.99	0.90	3.3	1.50	5.7
Public sector²		30.42	31.21	31.94	35.69	35.11	36.18	37.23	1.05	2.9	2.12	6.0
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		20.37	21.40	22.21	22.89	24.14	24.72	25.51	0.79	3.2	1.37	5.7
50-250 employees		22.34	24.14	24.40	25.29	25.75	26.18	27.23	1.05	4.0	1.48	5.7
Greater than 250 employees		27.39	28.50	29.30	31.63	31.75	32.62	33.57	0.95	2.9	1.82	5.7
¹ For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
²Average hourly earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8b.

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q4 2024 Table 2 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 3 Average weekly paid hours by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	hours	%	hours	%
B-E	Industry	38.2	39.2	38.5	38.0	38.0	38.0	38.2	0.2	0.5	0.2	0.5
F	Construction	37.0	38.2	38.6	37.6	37.1	36.9	35.7	-1.2	-3.3	-1.4	-3.8
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	30.4	31.2	31.1	30.3	30.4	31.0	30.1	-0.9	-2.9	-0.3	-1.0
H	Transportation and storage	35.0	36.3	35.9	36.2	38.2	36.9	36.2	-0.7	-1.9	-2.0	-5.2
I	Accommodation and food services	27.7	25.0	26.2	26.5	27.1	26.6	26.6	-	-	-0.5	-1.8
J	Information and communication	36.9	37.0	37.0	37.4	37.6	37.1	37.0	-0.1	-0.3	-0.6	-1.6
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	34.8	34.9	34.9	34.8	34.7	34.6	34.7	0.1	0.3	-	-
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	34.5	35.1	35.3	34.6	34.6	34.3	34.5	0.2	0.6	-0.1	-0.3
N	Administrative and support services	32.5	32.0	32.3	32.0	32.3	31.4	31.1	-0.3	-1.0	-1.2	-3.7
O	Public administration and defence	36.8	37.4	35.9	35.5	36.0	36.0	36.0	-	-	-	-
P	Education	23.9	24.2	24.0	23.3	23.9	23.8	24.3	0.5	2.1	0.4	1.7
Q	Human health and social work	31.7	32.3	32.5	31.3	32.0	32.9	32.3	-0.6	-1.8	0.3	0.9
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	27.7	28.5	28.8	28.2	29.2	28.8	29.2	0.4	1.4	-	-
All Sectors		32.4	33.1	32.9	32.4	32.6	32.7	32.4	-0.3	-0.9	-0.2	-0.6
Public/Private Sector¹
Private sector		32.4	33.3	33.1	32.6	32.8	32.8	32.6	-0.2	-0.6	-0.2	-0.6
Public sector²		32.6	32.7	32.0	31.8	31.9	32.5	32.0	-0.5	-1.5	0.1	0.3
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		31.0	31.7	31.7	31.0	31.5	30.9	30.8	-0.1	-0.3	-0.7	-2.2
50-250 employees		32.7	33.5	33.5	33.0	32.9	33.0	32.8	-0.2	-0.6	-0.1	-0.3
Greater than 250 employees		33.3	33.9	33.4	33.1	33.2	33.6	33.2	-0.4	-1.2	-	-
¹ For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
² Average weekly paid hours by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8c.

Open in Excel: Earnings and Labour Costs Q4 2024 Table 3 (XLS 13KB)

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Table 4 Earnings, hours and labour costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by quarter

Table 4 Earnings, hours and labour costs, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted by other characteristics and quarter
	Unadjusted Series					Seasonally Adjusted Series
Quarter	Average weekly earnings	Average weekly paid hours	Average hourly earnings	Average hourly other labour costs	Average hourly total labour costs	Average weekly earnings	Average weekly paid hours	Average hourly earnings	Average hourly other labour costs	Average hourly total labour costs
	€	hours	€	€	€	€	hours	€	€	€
Q1 2008	704.60	32.7	21.56	3.51	25.07	707.37	32.9	21.33	3.52	24.83
Q2 2008	705.28	32.8	21.50	3.40	24.90	708.59	32.8	21.54	3.41	25.00
Q3 2008	696.11	32.8	21.20	3.41	24.61	701.52	32.7	21.50	3.50	25.06
Q4 2008	721.89	32.5	22.24	3.60	25.84	710.25	32.4	22.12	3.50	25.54
Q1 2009	709.55	31.6	22.44	3.59	26.03	712.60	32.0	22.20	3.60	25.78
Q2 2009	700.75	31.9	22.00	3.64	25.64	704.06	31.9	22.05	3.65	25.74
Q3 2009	698.47	31.9	21.88	3.49	25.37	702.79	31.7	22.19	3.58	25.83
Q4 2009	721.28	32.1	22.50	3.66	26.16	711.06	31.7	22.40	3.55	25.87
Q1 2010	689.32	31.0	22.21	3.36	25.58	692.07	31.8	21.96	3.36	25.32
Q2 2010	696.90	31.6	22.03	3.30	25.33	699.93	31.6	22.07	3.31	25.42
Q3 2010	700.23	32.2	21.78	3.14	24.91	703.13	31.7	22.09	3.23	25.35
Q4 2010	704.11	31.8	22.14	3.27	25.41	696.76	31.5	22.06	3.16	25.16
Q1 2011	684.87	30.9	22.18	3.13	25.31	686.65	31.5	21.91	3.13	25.04
Q2 2011	687.49	31.4	21.90	3.14	25.04	689.29	31.4	21.93	3.16	25.11
Q3 2011	686.59	31.8	21.57	3.08	24.65	689.26	31.4	21.89	3.18	25.09
Q4 2011	696.84	31.6	22.06	3.29	25.35	692.60	31.6	22.01	3.18	25.13
Q1 2012	698.71	31.4	22.25	3.25	25.50	698.25	31.6	21.95	3.24	25.20
Q2 2012	691.62	31.5	21.96	3.28	25.24	692.24	31.5	21.98	3.30	25.30
Q3 2012	692.13	31.7	21.82	3.31	25.12	696.14	31.4	22.17	3.41	25.59
Q4 2012	691.84	31.6	21.90	3.59	25.49	689.48	31.5	21.87	3.48	25.31
Q1 2013	693.21	31.2	22.24	3.46	25.70	690.65	31.6	21.89	3.45	25.35
Q2 2013	695.65	31.6	22.02	3.32	25.34	694.83	31.6	22.03	3.34	25.39
Q3 2013	682.79	31.7	21.53	3.23	24.77	689.45	31.6	21.90	3.33	25.25
Q4 2013	694.03	31.7	21.89	3.73	25.62	691.84	31.6	21.89	3.63	25.47
Q1 2014	699.67	31.3	22.37	3.41	25.78	695.11	31.7	21.97	3.39	25.38
Q2 2014	694.08	31.8	21.81	3.38	25.19	693.31	31.8	21.82	3.40	25.23
Q3 2014	676.58	31.9	21.20	3.27	24.47	684.91	31.8	21.59	3.36	24.97
Q4 2014	702.07	31.8	22.05	3.51	25.56	699.23	31.7	22.06	3.42	25.44
Q1 2015	701.11	31.4	22.30	3.46	25.76	695.64	31.8	21.85	3.44	25.31
Q2 2015	699.22	32.0	21.86	3.45	25.31	698.82	32.0	21.88	3.46	25.36
Q3 2015	692.79	32.2	21.50	3.35	24.84	702.05	32.0	21.93	3.44	25.36
Q4 2015	711.23	32.5	21.91	3.46	25.37	708.09	32.1	21.92	3.38	25.28
Q1 2016	714.26	31.7	22.55	3.51	26.06	707.89	31.9	22.06	3.50	25.57
Q2 2016	706.33	32.1	21.97	3.48	25.45	706.80	32.1	22.00	3.48	25.50
Q3 2016	702.97	32.6	21.56	3.47	25.04	711.71	32.2	22.02	3.56	25.58
Q4 2016	717.52	32.4	22.18	3.58	25.76	715.15	32.4	22.19	3.51	25.69
Q1 2017	725.12	32.0	22.69	3.53	26.22	718.15	32.3	22.17	3.52	25.69
Q2 2017	720.52	32.4	22.27	3.59	25.86	720.90	32.4	22.31	3.58	25.91
Q3 2017	717.55	32.4	22.16	3.50	25.65	726.11	32.3	22.66	3.59	26.22
Q4 2017	731.86	32.4	22.60	3.70	26.31	730.83	32.2	22.60	3.64	26.26
Q1 2018	744.56	31.8	23.40	3.65	27.05	736.58	32.3	22.84	3.64	26.47
Q2 2018	745.03	32.5	22.94	3.63	26.56	744.61	32.5	22.97	3.60	26.60
Q3 2018	742.71	32.8	22.62	3.50	26.12	752.14	32.5	23.17	3.59	26.73
Q4 2018	755.99	32.4	23.31	3.66	26.97	756.31	32.4	23.31	3.60	26.94
Q1 2019	771.43	32.1	24.05	3.69	27.74	761.75	32.4	23.45	3.68	27.10
Q2 2019	771.39	32.6	23.69	3.81	27.50	770.00	32.6	23.71	3.77	27.52
Q3 2019	769.09	32.7	23.54	3.77	27.31	780.64	32.5	24.16	3.88	28.00
Q4 2019	786.36	32.4	24.23	3.96	28.20	787.30	32.4	24.23	3.90	28.17
Q1 2020	799.96	32.3	24.76	3.86	28.61	787.95	32.4	24.11	3.85	27.92
Q2 2020	817.34	32.2	25.38	2.29	27.67	815.59	32.2	25.39	2.24	27.66
Q3 2020	795.04	32.6	24.38	2.69	27.08	809.36	32.4	25.06	2.81	27.81
Q4 2020	847.54	33.1	25.57	2.52	28.09	848.09	32.7	25.58	2.46	28.08
Q1 2021	860.45	32.1	26.84	2.68	29.52	845.46	32.8	26.11	2.66	28.79
Q2 2021	851.14	32.6	26.08	3.83	29.91	850.27	32.7	26.07	2.86	28.95
Q3 2021	838.47	33.1	25.31	3.53	28.84	855.24	32.5	26.04	2.72	28.68
Q4 2021	864.63	32.9	26.29	4.21	30.51	864.89	32.7	26.31	3.24	29.61
Q1 2022	887.17	32.3	27.46	4.23	31.69	869.75	32.8	26.70	3.60	30.31
Q2 2022	873.32	32.6	26.76	4.37	31.12	873.14	32.7	26.74	4.16	30.88
Q3 2022	869.17	33.1	26.23	4.13	30.36	886.20	32.7	26.98	4.28	31.21
Q4 2022	904.69	32.4	27.9	4.61	32.51	904.55	32.5	27.94	4.55	32.55
Q1 2023	926.05	32.4	28.55	4.60	33.15	906.34	32.6	27.74	4.58	32.33
Q2 2023	912.12	32.4	28.19	4.74	32.94	912.32	32.4	28.15	4.66	32.77
Q3 2023	907.10	32.6	27.84	4.66	32.5	924.01	32.5	28.63	4.81	33.41
Q4 2023	927.98	32.6	28.44	5.02	33.47	930.07	32.5	28.50	4.96	33.53
Q1 2024	972.20	32.5	29.96	5.10	35.06	950.55	32.5	29.11	5.08	34.21
Q2 2024	964.54	32.4	29.75	5.39	35.14	964.85	32.5	29.70	5.30	34.93
Q3 2024	956.56	32.7	29.23	5.07	34.29	974.55	32.5	30.04	5.23	35.25
Q4 2024¹	979.71	32.4	30.21	5.31	35.52	984.08	32.4	30.31	5.25	35.62
¹Preliminary Estimates

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Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 5a Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	22.53	23.24	23.90	25.04	26.27	27.00	27.58	0.58	2.1	1.31	5.0
F	Construction	22.05	22.40	22.86	23.98	25.04	26.95	26.43	-0.52	-1.9	1.39	5.6
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	18.31	18.84	19.47	20.09	20.98	21.66	22.29	0.63	2.9	1.31	6.2
H	Transportation and storage	22.42	20.84	20.91	21.95	22.34	23.90	24.28	0.38	1.6	1.94	8.7
I	Accommodation and food services	13.37	15.17	14.63	15.10	15.73	16.44	16.41	-0.03	-0.2	0.68	4.3
J	Information and communication	29.02	30.49	31.43	34.69	36.08	37.41	37.94	0.53	1.4	1.86	5.2
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	30.78	32.05	32.48	34.06	35.11	36.35	36.43	0.08	0.2	1.32	3.8
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	26.31	26.63	28.40	29.17	30.88	31.25	31.83	0.58	1.9	0.95	3.1
N	Administrative and support services	18.00	19.06	19.73	20.40	21.82	22.33	22.64	0.31	1.4	0.82	3.8
O	Public administration and defence	25.46	25.83	27.06	29.48	29.88	30.60	31.06	0.46	1.5	1.18	3.9
P	Education	36.38	36.95	38.25	39.76	40.96	43.36	42.97	-0.39	-0.9	2.01	4.9
Q	Human health and social work	22.57	23.42	23.87	25.61	26.50	27.11	27.87	0.76	2.8	1.37	5.2
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	17.97	18.90	19.83	20.42	21.47	21.31	22.13	0.82	3.8	0.66	3.1
All Sectors		22.90	24.07	24.68	25.88	26.88	27.84	28.44	0.60	2.2	1.56	5.8
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		21.03	22.22	22.82	23.90	24.81	25.67	26.07	0.40	1.6	1.26	5.1
Public sector³		29.25	30.07	30.91	32.62	33.93	34.87	35.94	1.07	3.1	2.01	5.9
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		19.45	20.32	20.76	21.74	23.00	24.04	24.22	0.18	0.7	1.22	5.3
50-250 employees		20.98	22.64	22.88	23.81	24.32	25.15	25.77	0.62	2.5	1.45	6.0
Greater than 250 employees		25.81	26.76	27.56	28.94	29.92	30.75	31.46	0.71	2.3	1.54	5.1
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 For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
³ Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8d.

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Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 5b Average hourly irregular earnings by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change	Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change	Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
B-E	Industry	1.45	1.49	1.62	1.71	1.70	1.43	1.75	0.32	0.05
F	Construction	0.69	0.87	0.89	1.03	0.54	0.42	1.29	0.87	0.75
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	1.49	1.53	1.73	1.42	1.47	0.85	1.51	0.66	0.04
H	Transportation and storage	1.23	1.18	1.57	2.01	1.02	0.96	1.39	0.43	0.37
I	Accommodation and food services	0.31	0.49	0.31	0.31	0.48	0.40	0.39	-0.01	-0.09
J	Information and communication	4.62	4.87	5.81	5.85	5.99	7.16	7.58	0.42	1.59
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	1.69	1.83	2.70	2.24	2.70	1.29	1.89	0.60	-0.81
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	1.95	3.02	2.43	2.40	2.21	1.99	3.27	1.28	1.06
N	Administrative and support services	1.27	1.38	1.51	1.38	1.34	1.13	1.74	0.61	0.40
O	Public administration and defence	1.09	1.21	1.14	2.45	1.24	1.26	1.26	-	0.02
P	Education	0.53	0.51	0.40	3.09	0.44	0.62	0.52	-0.10	0.08
Q	Human health and social work	1.11	0.95	0.93	2.12	1.23	1.07	1.10	0.03	-0.13
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	0.88	0.63	0.76	0.55	0.67	0.43	0.73	0.30	0.06
All Sectors		1.33	1.50	1.61	2.02	1.56	1.39	1.77	0.38	0.21
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		1.37	1.61	1.79	1.71	1.68	1.41	1.92	0.51	0.24
Public sector³		1.18	1.14	1.03	3.07	1.18	1.30	1.29	-0.01	0.11
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		0.92	1.08	1.46	1.15	1.14	0.69	1.28	0.59	0.14
50-250 employees		1.36	1.50	1.53	1.48	1.44	1.04	1.47	0.43	0.03
Greater than 250 employees		1.58	1.74	1.74	2.69	1.84	1.87	2.11	0.24	0.27
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.
² For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.
³ Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by Public sector sub-sector are set out in Table 8d.

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Total Labour Costs

Average hourly total labour costs were €35.52 across all economic sectors in Q4 2024. Information & Communication had the highest average hourly total labour costs at €59.77, followed by €48.65 in the Education sector.

The sectors with the lowest cost of employing labour were Accommodation & Food Services Activities at €18.66 and Arts, Entertainment, Recreation & Other Service Activities at €26.43.

Average hourly total labour costs increased by 26.0% over the five years to Q4 2024, from €28.20 per hour to €35.52.

	5 Year % Change
Information & communication	47.7626699629172
Professional & technical	27.4134790528233
Admin & support services	26.702751465945
All sectors	25.9574468085107
Construction	24.9416342412451
Accommodation & food	23.2496697490092
Health & social	22.8668941979522
Public admin & defence	22.7804542326222
Arts & entertainment	21.3498622589532
Wholesale & retail	21.054907047125
Industry	20.0336134453782
Education	18.8034188034188
Financial & real estate	15.541825095057
Transportation	9.08760450745184

Table 6a Average hourly other labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 6b Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 6b Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change	Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change	Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€
B-E	Industry	0.40	0.47	0.51	0.46	0.53	0.27	0.57	0.30	0.04
F	Construction	0.07	0.08	0.11	0.07	0.64	0.30	0.28	-0.02	-0.36
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	0.47	0.62	0.56	0.57	0.57	0.44	0.62	0.18	0.05
H	Transportation and storage	0.12	0.07	0.09	0.10	0.09	0.09	0.11	0.02	0.02
I	Accommodation and food services	0.03	0.03	0.03	0.02	0.03	0.02	0.02	-	-0.01
J	Information and communication	0.90	3.60	5.36	2.92	5.16	5.23	5.86	0.63	0.70
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	0.87	0.61	0.92	0.62	0.78	0.59	0.95	0.36	0.17
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	0.29	0.33	0.40	0.46	0.47	0.55	0.74	0.19	0.27
N	Administrative and support services	0.24	0.34	0.15	0.16	0.36	0.51	0.24	-0.27	-0.12
O	Public administration and defence	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	-	-
P	Education	0.01	0.00	0.00	0.06	0.05	0.01	0.00	-0.01	-0.05
Q	Human health and social work	0.01	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.01	-	-0.01
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	0.17	0.16	0.19	0.20	0.25	0.14	0.27	0.13	0.02
All Sectors		0.26	0.45	0.57	0.40	0.59	0.52	0.64	0.12	0.05
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		0.34	0.58	0.74	0.52	0.75	0.67	0.83	0.16	0.08
Public sector		0.01	0.01	0.02	0.00	0.01	0.01	0.03	0.02	0.02
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		0.16	0.15	0.13	0.15	0.27	0.20	0.22	0.02	-0.05
50-250 employees		0.24	0.31	0.34	0.25	0.34	0.34	0.39	0.05	0.05
Greater than 250 employees		0.34	0.66	0.91	0.60	0.84	0.74	0.93	0.19	0.09
¹Average hourly benefits in kind (BIK) are a sub-component of average hourly other labour costs as set out in Table 6a. BIK is considered an income rather than an other labour cost by Eurostat and in Structure of Earnings Statistics.
² For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.

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Table 6c Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 6c Average hourly total labour costs by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change		Annual change
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
		€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
B-E	Industry	29.75	28.97	30.79	32.59	33.68	34.39	35.71	1.32	3.8	2.03	6.0
F	Construction	25.70	22.85	26.38	28.38	30.91	31.52	32.11	0.59	1.9	1.20	3.9
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	23.13	21.96	24.52	25.20	26.41	26.65	28.00	1.35	5.1	1.59	6.0
H	Transportation and storage	27.51	22.34	25.66	27.99	27.98	28.97	30.01	1.04	3.6	2.03	7.3
I	Accommodation and food services	15.14	7.39	14.74	17.03	17.99	18.71	18.66	-0.05	-0.3	0.67	3.7
J	Information and communication	40.45	44.68	49.73	50.67	55.16	58.19	59.77	1.58	2.7	4.61	8.4
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	42.08	42.73	45.64	45.23	47.54	47.15	48.62	1.47	3.1	1.08	2.3
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	32.94	33.38	36.21	37.25	39.79	39.60	41.97	2.37	6.0	2.18	5.5
N	Administrative and support services	22.17	21.69	23.87	25.02	26.75	27.33	28.09	0.76	2.8	1.34	5.0
O	Public administration and defence	29.06	29.68	30.83	35.13	34.33	35.17	35.68	0.51	1.5	1.35	3.9
P	Education	40.95	40.92	42.51	47.93	46.25	49.07	48.65	-0.42	-0.9	2.40	5.2
Q	Human health and social work	26.37	26.37	27.44	30.99	30.94	31.58	32.40	0.82	2.6	1.46	4.7
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	21.78	17.17	21.77	24.26	25.65	24.94	26.43	1.49	6.0	0.78	3.0
All Sectors		28.20	28.09	30.51	32.51	33.47	34.29	35.52	1.23	3.6	2.05	6.1
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		26.51	26.09	28.99	30.34	31.77	32.37	33.56	1.19	3.7	1.79	5.6
Public sector		33.91	34.55	35.59	39.90	39.26	40.53	41.73	1.20	3.0	2.47	6.3
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		23.16	20.65	24.52	26.14	28.22	28.66	29.40	0.74	2.6	1.18	4.2
50-250 employees		26.10	26.09	28.06	29.52	30.07	30.66	31.98	1.32	4.3	1.91	6.4
Greater than 250 employees		32.17	33.13	34.80	37.14	37.55	38.47	39.78	1.31	3.4	2.23	5.9
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.
² For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.

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Job Vacancies

The job vacancy rate in Q4 2024, which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter was 1.1%. It was down from the 1.2% recorded at the end of Q3 2024.

The highest job vacancy rates in Q4 2024 were 3.4% in the Public Administration & Defence sector, followed by 2.0% in the Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities sector.

There were 25,400 job vacancies, (rounded to the nearest 100), at the end of Q4 2024, down 700 from the end of Q4 2023.

X-axis label	Job Vacancy Rate
Q417	1
Q118	1
Q218	1.2
Q318	1
Q418	0.9
Q119	1.2
Q219	1.1
Q319	0.9
Q419	0.9
Q120	0.8
Q220	0.7
Q320	0.8
Q420	0.9
Q121	1
Q221	1.2
Q321	1.5
Q421	1.4
Q122	1.6
Q222	1.6
Q322	1.6
Q422	1.3
Q123	1.5
Q223	1.3
Q323	1.2
Q423	1.2
Q124	1.2
Q224	1.3
Q324	1.2
Q424	1.1

Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 7a Employment by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
NACE Principal Activity		2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024
NACE Principal Activity		Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4
B-E	Industry	226,900	225,300	233,400	245,800	256,300	264,800	259,400	276,000	270,100
F	Construction	95,700	107,300	114,400	107,300	126,200	129,000	125,400	140,000	136,700
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	308,800	312,400	311,300	325,700	312,700	326,300	348,500	333,700	333,400
H	Transportation and storage	71,000	79,100	84,500	84,000	83,800	93,600	89,800	95,200	96,000
I	Accommodation and food services	178,000	182,200	184,700	132,800	166,200	175,700	190,300	207,500	188,800
J	Information and communication	71,100	73,100	79,200	87,800	110,000	106,700	105,400	117,300	114,800
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	90,600	91,000	99,000	104,600	116,900	118,100	115,300	119,400	124,200
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	92,100	94,800	100,400	103,000	128,100	122,700	139,600	148,500	142,800
N	Administrative and support services	88,800	108,800	107,800	78,000	93,800	108,000	103,500	96,200	94,700
O	Public administration and defence	122,900	130,800	143,000	149,900	165,500	170,900	173,100	186,100	182,700
P	Education	153,000	166,700	178,800	182,900	198,000	192,900	214,300	208,900	221,600
Q	Human health and social work	240,500	251,900	255,700	251,900	281,300	293,300	312,100	323,700	327,000
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	55,800	55,400	55,000	45,900	53,200	52,200	57,000	56,400	55,000
All Sectors		1,795,300	1,878,600	1,947,200	1,899,700	2,092,100	2,154,300	2,233,500	2,308,900	2,287,800
Public/Private Sector²
Private sector		1,399,300	1,475,300	1,535,500	1,484,700	1,666,100	1,708,200	1,787,800	1,856,200	1,829,900
Public sector		396,000	403,300	411,800	414,900	426,000	446,100	445,700	452,700	457,900
¹ It should be noted that the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of estimates of employment.
² For additional Public/Private data see PxStat table EHQ08.

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Table 7b Job vacancies by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Table 7c Job vacancy rate by economic sector and other characteristics and quarter

Public Sector

Average weekly earnings increased by 6.4% across the public sector in the year to Q4 2024, rising from €1,119.37 to €1,190.86.

An Garda Síochána had the highest average weekly earnings and average weekly paid hours in Q4 2024 in the public sector at €1,543.44 and 41.4 hours respectively. The highest average hourly earnings in this period were €49.48 in the Education sector.

FALSE

	Q4 2023	Q4 2024
Civil service	1098.2	1128.71
Defence	1039.88	1104.33
Garda Siochana	1471.4	1543.44
Education	1117.45	1200.91
Regional bodies	999.37	1037.67
Health	1107.86	1187.16
Semi-state	1169.15	1262.66
All public sector	1119.37	1190.86

	Q4 2023	Q4 2024
Civil service	46700	52900
Defence	8000	7900
Garda Siochana	14400	14500
Education	112700	110200
Regional bodies	37300	38200
Health	163600	168600
Semi-state	63000	65700

Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter

Table 8b Average hourly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter

Table 8c Average weekly paid hours by public sector sub-sector and quarter

Table 8d Average hourly earnings excluding irregular earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter

Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter

Additional Tables

Table A1 Estimates of average weekly earnings by broad occupational categories

Table A2 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter

Table A3 Preliminary data versus final data

Table A3 Preliminary data versus final data¹
		Preliminary Q3 2024			Final Q3 2024			Percentage Change
NACE Principal Activity		Average weekly earnings	Average hourly earnings	Average weekly hours	Average weekly earnings	Average hourly earnings	Average weekly hours	Average weekly earnings	Average hourly earnings	Average weekly hours
		€	€	hours	€	€	hours	€	€	hours
B-E	Industry	1,073.91	28.32	37.9	1,078.98	28.43	38.0	0.5	0.4	0.3
F	Construction	986.77	26.60	37.1	1,010.02	27.36	36.9	2.4	2.9	-0.5
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	701.68	22.47	31.2	698.55	22.51	31.0	-0.4	0.2	-0.6
H	Transportation and storage	911.06	24.77	36.8	916.43	24.86	36.9	0.6	0.4	0.3
I	Accommodation and food services	443.75	16.84	26.4	447.14	16.84	26.6	0.8	0.0	0.8
J	Information and communication	1,656.40	44.86	36.9	1,651.31	44.57	37.1	-0.3	-0.6	0.5
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	1,287.99	37.37	34.5	1,302.99	37.65	34.6	1.2	0.7	0.3
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	1,126.54	32.79	34.4	1,141.58	33.24	34.3	1.3	1.4	-0.3
N	Administrative and support services	754.29	23.82	31.7	737.23	23.45	31.4	-2.3	-1.6	-0.9
O	Public administration and defence	1,142.32	31.84	35.9	1,146.43	31.85	36.0	0.4	0.0	0.3
P	Education	1,056.13	44.54	23.7	1,047.08	43.98	23.8	-0.9	-1.3	0.4
Q	Human health and social work	928.51	28.16	33.0	927.79	28.17	32.9	-0.1	0.0	-0.3
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	662.44	22.90	28.9	626.61	21.74	28.8	-5.4	-5.1	-0.3
Total		955.49	29.14	32.8	956.56	29.23	32.7	0.1	0.3	-0.3
Public/Private Sector
Private sector		887.99	27.02	32.9	888.24	27.09	32.8	0.0	0.3	-0.3
Public sector		1,173.07	36.04	32.6	1,176.52	36.18	32.5	0.3	0.4	-0.3
Size of Enterprise
Less than 50 employees		751.81	24.36	30.9	765.06	24.72	30.9	1.8	1.5	0.0
50-250 employees		865.53	26.20	33.0	864.74	26.18	33.0	-0.1	-0.1	0.0
Greater than 250 employees		1,097.12	32.54	33.7	1,096.13	32.62	33.6	-0.1	0.2	-0.3
¹See background notes.

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Table 8a Average weekly earnings by public sector sub-sector and quarter - Preliminary estimates
Public sector sub-sector	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change		Annual change
Public sector sub-sector	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Quarterly change		Annual change
	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	€	%	€	%
Civil service	958.02	986.31	1,003.67	1,095.19	1,098.20	1,106.16	1,128.71	22.55	2.0	30.51	2.8
Defence	916.88	938.59	946.03	1,077.26	1,039.88	1,105.24	1,104.33	-0.91	-0.1	64.45	6.2
Garda Siochana	1,253.95	1,344.75	1,319.62	1,512.46	1,471.40	1,587.54	1,543.44	-44.10	-2.8	72.04	4.9
Education	1,017.56	1,038.59	1,045.56	1,159.40	1,117.45	1,198.23	1,200.91	2.68	0.2	83.46	7.5
Regional bodies	876.00	900.57	881.78	1,004.45	999.37	987.55	1,037.67	50.12	5.1	38.30	3.8
Health	963.06	1,003.80	999.14	1,102.69	1,107.86	1,179.67	1,187.16	7.49	0.6	79.30	7.2
Semi-state	1,031.49	1,049.89	1,064.25	1,177.46	1,169.15	1,229.18	1,262.66	33.48	2.7	93.51	8.0
Total public sector	990.98	1,021.27	1,023.27	1,133.91	1,119.37	1,176.52	1,190.86	14.34	1.2	71.49	6.4
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies	984.81	1,016.72	1,017.39	1,127.30	1,112.13	1,168.67	1,180.01	11.34	1.0	67.88	6.1
Semi-state by sub-sector
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies	1,036.04	1,040.66	1,055.43	1,191.43	1,147.01	1,237.70	1,205.97	-31.73	-2.6	58.96	5.1
Commercial Semi-state bodies	1,029.43	1,053.90	1,068.52	1,170.89	1,180.12	1,224.92	1,290.67	65.75	5.4	110.55	9.4

Table 8e Public sector employment by sub-sector and quarter¹ - Preliminary estimates
Public sector sub-sector	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2024	Annual change
Public sector sub-sector	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q4	Q3	Q4	Annual change
									%
Civil service	44,400	45,200	44,800	45,300	46,700	52,100	52,900	6,200	13.3
Defence	9,100	9,000	8,900	8,400	8,000	7,800	7,900	- 100	-1.3
Garda Siochana	14,700	14,600	14,600	14,200	14,400	14,400	14,500	100	0.7
Education	115,100	111,800	113,100	111,100	112,700	109,800	110,200	- 2,500	-2.2
Regional bodies	34,900	34,900	35,300	35,600	37,300	37,100	38,200	900	2.4
Health	137,500	142,200	152,300	171,900	163,600	167,400	168,600	5,000	3.1
Semi-state	56,200	57,200	57,000	59,500	63,000	64,200	65,700	2,700	4.3
Total public sector	411,800	414,900	426,000	446,100	445,700	452,700	457,900	12,200	2.7
Total public sector excluding semi-state bodies	355,600	357,700	369,000	386,600	382,700	388,500	392,200	9,500	2.5
Semi-state by sub-sector
Non Commercial Semi-state bodies	14,600	15,100	17,000	15,700	16,600	17,200	17,700	1,100	6.6
Commercial Semi-state bodies	41,700	42,100	39,900	43,800	46,400	47,000	48,100	1,700	3.7
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 the above table 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.

Table A1 Estimates of average weekly earnings by broad occupational categories¹
	2022	2023	2024	2024	Quarterly change	Annual change
Occupation by NACE groups	Q3	Q3	Q2	Q3	Quarterly change	Annual change
	€	€	€	€	%	%
Managers, professionals and associated professionals
B-E	1,672.59	1,734.99	1,754.99	1,744.21	-0.6	0.5
B-N, R-S	1,539.03	1,579.73	1,655.24	1,651.34	-0.2	4.5
O-Q	1,341.48	1,442.56	1,430.17	1,498.19	4.8	3.9
Total (B-S)	1,422.64	1,493.80	1,520.04	1,551.03	2.0	3.8
Clerical, sales and service employees
B-E	946.33	983.93	991.02	1,007.32	1.6	2.4
B-N, R-S	651.26	667.71	714.44	721.49	1.0	8.1
O-Q	657.89	699.43	709.63	733.12	3.3	4.8
Total (B-S)	642.08	667.43	706.05	717.67	1.6	7.5
Production, transport, craft and other manual workers
B-E	831.57	868.57	906.88	910.87	0.4	4.9
B-N, R-S	703.59	725.06	767.23	807.00	5.2	11.3
O-Q	577.24	657.62	681.70	702.06	3.0	6.8
Total (B-S)	665.51	697.12	735.03	770.66	4.8	10.5
¹ These estimates have been generated using a sub sample of EHECS respondents therefore caution is advised when interpreting these results. See background notes.

Table A2 Response rates in selected sectors by quarter¹
		Employer Response Rate %				Respondent Enterprises	Respondent Enterprises	Employee Response Rate %
NACE Principal Activity		Final Q3 2023	Preliminary Q3 2024	Final Q3 2024	Preliminary Q4 2024	Final Q3 2024	Preliminary Q4 2024	Final Q3 2023	Preliminary Q3 2024	Final Q3 2024	Preliminary Q4 2024
B-E	Industry	60.6	53.1	65.4	51.3	672	520	77.3	66.7	77.7	61.1
F	Construction	40.9	34.5	45.5	31.4	152	105	53.5	44.1	54.8	35.5
G	Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	46.4	43.6	53.4	45.1	620	517	69.3	62.8	71.1	54.1
H	Transportation and storage	50.4	45.9	58.0	50.2	134	116	80.7	64.3	83.6	79.4
I	Accommodation and food services	46.2	40.0	49.1	43.5	414	355	62.0	54.3	63.3	52.9
J	Information and communication	63.3	58.0	74.9	60.0	319	260	81.5	76.8	86.0	70.6
K-L	Financial, insurance and real estate	63.8	63.2	75.3	59.8	274	225	86.1	82.1	90.5	78.0
M	Professional, scientific and technical activities	54.9	50.5	63.1	49.8	310	245	68.2	56.8	72.2	55.9
N	Administrative and support services	49.5	41.5	50.9	41.7	253	207	69.9	53.5	65.0	56.6
O	Public administration and defence	90.1	81.0	86.8	81.3	118	113	96.5	93.3	94.8	95.4
P	Education	61.8	49.7	64.3	57.6	117	106	91.3	81.6	89.7	84.7
Q	Human health and social work	58.9	53.6	67.1	53.4	504	398	69.4	60.0	72.1	59.9
R-S	Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities	63.6	58.0	71.2	57.4	193	152	73.4	60.3	80.5	56.5
Total		54.7	49.2	60.8	49.7	4,080	3,319	77.5	68.9	78.5	67.4
¹This 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.

Earnings and Labour Costs Q3 2024 (Final) Q4 2024 (Preliminary Estimates)