SDG 8.5.1 Average Hourly Earnings of Employees
SDG 8.5.2 Unemployment Rate
SDG 8.6.1 Proportion of Youth (Aged 15-24 Years) not in Education, Employment or Training
SDG 8.5.1 Average hourly earnings of employees, by sex, age, occupation and persons with disabilities is published by the CSO and Eurostat.
Earnings and Labour Costs
Preliminary estimates from the Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly report in June 2021 show that average hourly earnings rose from €24.23 in Q4 2019 to €25.56 in Q4 2020.
The Earnings and Labour Costs release was compiled during the COVID-19 pandemic. For further information see Technical Note – Impact of COVID-19 on the Earnings and Labour Costs release - updated Quarter 1 2021 and Press Statement Earnings and Labour Costs Quarter 4 2020 (Final) Quarter 1 2021 (Preliminary Estimate).
Employees in the public sector had higher average hourly earnings than those in the private sector. In Q4 2020, average hourly earnings were €31.21 in the public sector compared with €23.82 in the private sector.
Employees in larger enterprises were more likely to earn more. Average hourly earnings in Q4 2020 were €28.49 in firms with more than 250 employees compared with €21.40 in firms with less than 50 employees. See Table 5.1.
Preliminary data for Q1 2021 show average hourly earnings of €26.89, a quarterly change of 5.2% and an annual change of 8.6%. See Table 5.1.
Average Hourly Earnings by Economic Sector is also published in more detail in the CSO, Earnings and Labour Costs release. Figures from their most recent release show that average hourly earnings were €25.56 in Q4 2020 but this varied widely by sector.
The three sectors with the highest average hourly earnings were publishing activities (€44.97 per hour), education (€37.46) and financial and insurance service activities (€35.57).
The three sectors with the lowest average hourly earnings were services to buildings and landscape activities (€14.13 per hour), repair of computers, personal and household goods; other personal service activities (€15.38) and food and beverage service activities (€15.51). See Table 5.2.
Structure of Earnings Survey
According to the Structure of Earnings Survey (SES), Eurostat figures show that the mean hourly earnings for males were €23.12 in 2018 compared with €20.79 for females.
There are smaller differences when looking at median hourly earnings.
In 2018, median hourly earnings were €17.30 for males compared with €16.28 for females.
The difference in median hourly earnings is strongest for people aged 50 and over, at €19.71 for males and €16.85 for females. See Table 5.3.
Using occupational classfication ISCO-08, the mean hourly earnings for males were €23.12 for males compared with €20.79 for females in 2018, a difference of €2.33.
Median hourly earnings were higher for males in all occupations. This difference was most pronounced for managers, where mean hourly earnings for male were €38.88 compared with €28.69 for females. See Table 5.4.
Median hourly earnings for males were €17.30 in 2018 compared with €16.28 for females.
Median hourly earnings for males were higher in all occupations except skilled agriculture, forestry and fishery workers.
This largest difference was for managers, where median hourly earnings for males were €29.04 compared with €20.45 for females. See Table 5.5.
Mean hourly earnings were €23.12 for males compared with €20.79 for females in 2018, a difference of €2.33.
Mean hourly earnings were higher for males in all sectors of the economy.
The largest difference was in the Education: Human health & social work activities; Arts, entertainment & recreation; Other service activities sector. Mean hourly earnings were €28.22 for males compared with €23.69 for females in this sector, a difference of €4.53.
The smallest difference was in industry & construction, where mean hourly earnings for males were €22.23 compared with €21.33 for females, a difference of 0.90 cent. See Table 5.6 and Figure 5.1.
| Male | Female | Total | |
| Industry, Construction and Services | 23.12 | 20.79 | 21.94 |
| Business Economy | 22.26 | 18.7 | 20.8 |
| Industry and Construction | 22.23 | 21.33 | 22.02 |
| Services of the Business Economy | 22.28 | 18.27 | 20.4 |
| Education and Other Service Activities | 28.22 | 23.69 | 24.82 |
Median hourly earnings for males were €17.30 in 2018 compared with €16.28 for females.
Median hourly earnings were higher for males in all sectors of the economy.
The largest difference was in the Education: Human health and social work activities; Arts, entertainment and recreation; Other service activities sector. Median hourly earnings were €21.96 for males compared with €20.12 for females in this sector, a difference of €1.84.
The smallest different was in industry and construction, where median hourly earnings for males were €18.41 compared with €17.83 for females. See Table 5.7.
The CSO publication "Geographical Profiles on Income in Ireland 2016" reports on income earned by persons with disabilities.
People with a deafness or a serious hearing impairment had the highest median value for earned income at €21,270 per person with a disability in 2016.
The lowest median earned income for those with a disability was €7,140 for persons with an intellectual disability. See Table 5.8 and Figure 5.1.
| Disability | Median Earned Income |
|---|---|
| Deafness or a Serious Hearing Impairment | 21270 |
| A Difficulty with Pain, Breathing, or any Other Chronic Illness or Condition | 21155 |
| Blindness or a Serious Vision Impairment | 20004 |
| A Psychological or Emotional Condition | 15835 |
| Difficulty Participating in Other Activities, for Example Leisure or Using Transport | 14833 |
| A Difficulty that Limits Basic Physical Activities such as Walking, Climbing Stairs, Reaching, Lifting or Carrying | 13249 |
| Difficulty Dressing, Bathing or Getting Around Inside the Home | 12153.5 |
| A Difficulty with Learning, Remembering or Concentrating | 11143 |
| Difficulty Working at a job, Business or Attending School or College | 10263 |
| Difficulty Going Outside the Home Alone to Shop or Visit a Doctors Surgery | 9259 |
| An Intellectual Disability | 7140 |
SDG 8.5.2 Unemployment rate, by sex, age and persons with disabilities is published by the CSO, Labour Force Survey and the Monthly Unemployment release. The Census of Population 2016 provides data on labour force participation rates for persons with a disability.
Employment data recently published by the CSO is available from the Labour Force Survey Quarter 4 2020. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a household survey which provides quarterly statistics on employment and unemployment and is the official source of labour market estimates in the State. The primary classification used for the LFS results is the International Labour Organisation (ILO) labour force classification.
[Note: A new Labour Force Survey (LFS) replaced the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) in Q3 2017 and, as a result, care should be taken when comparing data from before and after this period. Please see background notes of the LFS release for additional information].
According to the latest Labour Force Survey the labour force grew from 2.331 million in Q4 2016 to 2.445 million by Q4 2020. Over this time period, the number of people in employment grew from 2.164 million to 2.306 million.
There were more males in employment than females in recent years. In Q4 2020, there were 1.245 million males in employment compared with 1.061 million females.
The participation rate for males was 67.5%, higher than the rate for females of 55.3% in Q4 2020. The unemployment rate was also higher for males, at 5.9%, compared with 5.5% for females. See Table 5.9.
Employment Rate (15-64 years age band) - The highest employment rate in Q4 2020 was 80.5% for those aged 35-44 years, followed by 78.8% for those aged 45-54 years. Young people aged 15-19 years had an employment rate of just 15.4%. Employment rates for females are lower than for males, with the exception of the 20-24 years age group, where the female rate of 57.6% is only marginally higher than the male rate of 57.5%. The largest difference in employment rates by age group is for those aged 35-44 years, where the male rate is 14.3 percentage points higher than the female rate.
Unemployment Rate (15-74 years age band) - The highest unemployment rate in Q4 2020 was 19.4% for those aged 15-19 years while the lowest was just 1.7% for those aged 65 years and over. Male and female rates of unemployment were broadly similar except for those aged 15-19 years where the female rate was 21.5% compared to 17.5% for males.
Participation Rate - The participation rate for males at 67.5% was higher than the rate of 55.3% for females in Q4 2020. Male participation rates were above the female rates in all age groups except those aged 20-24 years. Females aged 20-24 years had a participation rate of 65.7% compared with 65.2% for males. Male participation rates were about 14 percentage points higher than the female rates for people aged 45 to 54 years. See Table 5.10.
According to the Census of Population 2016–Profile 9 Health, Disability and Carers the highest participation rates for those with a disability was 64.2% for males and 50.9% for females for those with deafness or a serious hearing impairment.
Males had higher participation rates than females for all disabilities. See Table 5.11 and Figure 5.3.
| Female | Male | |
| Blindness or a serious vision impairment | 42.4 | -52.2 |
| Deafness or a serious hearing impairment | 50.9 | -64.2 |
| An intellectual disability | 23 | -27.4 |
| Difficulty in Learning, remembering or concentrating | 29.9 | -38.2 |
| A condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities | 26 | -32.5 |
| Other Disability, including chronic illness | 40.6 | -49.6 |
| Psychological or emotional condition | 38.3 | -41.6 |
| Difficulty in dressing, bathing or getting around inside the home | 19 | -22.2 |
| Difficulty in working or attending school/college | 21.6 | -27.4 |
| Difficulty in participating in other activities | 25.9 | -30.7 |
| Difficulty in going outside the home alone | 18.4 | -21.1 |
The CSO's Labour Force Survey publishes the unemployment rate for Ireland's NUTS 3 regions.
The West had an unemployment rate of 3.6% in Quarter 4 2020, the lowest unemployment rate of all regions.
The Mid-West was the region with the highest unemployment rate for this period at 7.2%. See Table 5.12 and Map 5.1.
The latest available Monthly Unemployment figures show that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the 15-74 years age group was estimated to be 5.8% for males and females in April 2021. This seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 5.8% in April 2021 had increased from 4.7% in April 2020 and 5.4% in April 2019. See Table 5.13.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is obliged to follow standard definitions and methodology when calculating official estimates from the LFS. The LFS estimates in Table 5.14 below have therefore been compiled in the usual way and separate COVID-19 adjusted estimates have been provided. This approach preserves the methodology of the LFS while at the same time providing transparency around the impact of COVID-19 on the Labour Market within Ireland.
The Monthly Unemployment release for April 2021 was compiled during the COVID-19 pandemic. For further information on the methodology applied in this release see the Technical Note on Monthly Unemployment Estimates and COVID-19 that was published alongside the August 2020 Monthly Unemployment Estimate release. For more information please also see the Press Statement Monthly Unemployment April 2021 and the Information Note on Implications of COVID-19 on the Live Register and the Monthly Unemployment Estimates.
Monthly Unemployment figures show that the COVID-19 crisis continued to have a significant impact on the labour market in Ireland in April 2021.
While the standard measure of Monthly Unemployment was 5.8% in April 2021, the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment could indicate a rate as high as 22.4% if all claimants of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) were classified as unemployed. The COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment rate is down from 23.8% in March 2021 and down from 30.5% in April 2020. See Table 5.14.
SDG 8.6.1 Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training, data is available from information published by the CSO, Census 2016 and unemployment data published by the Labour Force Survey and the Monthly Unemployment release.
NEET (Persons not in education, employment and training)
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a household survey which provides quarterly statistics on employment and unemployment and is the official source of labour market estimates in the State. The primary classification used for the LFS results is the International Labour Organisation (ILO) labour force classification. The latest annual data for Ireland for persons who are not in education, employment and training (NEET) is for 2020 and is sourced from the LFS. This data indicates 12% of persons aged 15-24 years in 2020 were classified as NEET.
Employment data
Employment data recently published by the CSO is available from the Labour Force Survey Quarter 4 2020. [Note: A new Labour Force Survey (LFS) replaced the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) in Q3 2017 and, as a result, care should be taken when comparing data from before and after this period. Please see background notes of the LFS release for additional information].
Employment Rate - Young people aged 15-19 years had an employment rate of just 15.4%. Employment rates for females in the 20-24 years age group is 57.6%, marginally higher than the male rate of 57.5%.
Unemployment Rate - The highest unemployment rate in Q4 2020 was 19.4% for those aged 15-19 years. Male and female rates of unemployment were broadly similar except for those aged 15-19 years where the female rate was 21.5% compared to 17.5% for males.
Participation Rate - Male participation rates were above the female rates in all age groups except those aged 20-24 years. Females aged 20-24 years had a participation rate of 65.7% compared with 65.2% for males. See Table 5.15.
The latest available Monthly Unemployment figures show that the overall seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the 15-24 years age group was estimated to be 15.9%, comprised of 9.7% for males and 22.2% for females, in April 2021. The corresponding figures in April 2020 for the 15-24 years age group were 13.1% overall, 11.8% for males and 14.7% for females. See Table 5.16.
Note that COVID-19 Adjusted Monthly Unemployment Estimates for youths aged 15-24 years for April 2021 are also included in Table 5.14 above under SDG 8.5.2. While the standard measure of Monthly Unemployment for youths (persons aged 15-24 Years) was 15.9% in April 2021, the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment could indicate a rate as high as 61.8% if all claimants of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) were classified as unemployed. The COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment rate for youths (persons aged 15-24 Years) is down from 63.9% in April 2020. See Table 5.14 under SDG 8.5.2.
The proportion of people aged 15-24 years who were students fell with age in 2016.
Nearly all (98.7%) of those aged 15 years were students compared with 81.5% of those aged 18 years. By age 21 years, the proportion who were students fell to 53.6% and dropped further to just 16.5% for those aged 24 years. See Table 5.17.
Census of Population 2016 data shows that just under one in eight (11.4%) of the population aged 15 years and over in 2016 was a student or pupil. This proportion was highest in Dublin and the South-West at 11.7% and lowest in the South-East at 10.5%.
Nearly nine in ten (88.1%) people aged 15-19 years were a student or pupil. The proportions were slightly higher for females (89.8%) than males (86.5%). For the age group 20-24 years, 39.5% of the population were either a student or pupil, with higher proportions for females (41.2%) than males (37.8%). See Table 5.18 and Map 5.2.
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