Based on the data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), average weekly wages in Ireland have risen 4.7% to €969.12 in the initial quarter of the current year, an increase from €925.44 the prior year’s corresponding quarter. The annual raise is slightly more than in previous years: 4.3 % in the first quarter of the previous year and 3.6 % in the first quarter of 2019. It is advisable to handle comparisons carefully due to significant shifts in the Irish labour market amid the pandemic years of 2020, 2021, and 2022.
According to recent observations, wage growth continues to remain steady, with workers seeking to counterbalance the reduction in actual earnings during the inflationary spike (average hourly wages increased 4.5 % to €29.82 in the first quarter). Policymakers at the European Central Bank (ECB) are worried that growing inflation levels in the services sector are a result of rising wage demands.
The data from the CSO reiterate that the highest earners were once more those employed in the information and communication sector, with average weekly earnings of €1,786.80, a yearly rise of more than eight percent and more than two-thirds higher than the national average. Workers in the building industry saw an 8.5 % increase in their average weekly pay to €961.97, whilst those in the arts, recreation, and other service sectors earned an average weekly wage of €648.95, up 8.9 %.
The lowest wages were found in the accommodation and food service sector, with average weekly earnings of €442.53, a sector that employs a significant number of part-time staff. Moreover, the job vacancy rate, which indicates labour market slack, decreased to 1.1% in the first quarter from 1.4% in the corresponding period of the previous year.