Irish worker wages rise 24% in five years

Gardaí the highest earners within the public sector

The CSO said that over the past five years, average hourly wages in Ireland have jumped 24% from €24.05 to €29.82.

Average weekly earnings amongst Irish workers increased by 4.7% in the past year to reach €969.12 for the first three months of this year.

New data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows average hourly earnings also rose by 4.5% to €29.82 compared to €28.54 recorded in the first quarter of 2023. The number of hours worked on average also increased in the past year, rising 0.3% to 32.5 hours.

The CSO said that over the past five years, average hourly wages in Ireland have jumped 24% from €24.05 to €29.82.

The largest annual percentage increase in the first quarter weekly earnings was 8.9% in the Arts, Entertainment, Recreation sector, rising from €595.67 to €648.95. The second largest increase was 8.5% in the Construction sector which rose from €886.66 to €961.97 over the year.

IT workers remain Ireland's highest-paid workers with those in the information and communications sector earning €1786.80 in average weekly earnings.

The CSO said the average weekly earnings in the public sector increased by 4% in the first quarter, rising from €1,103.55 to €1,147.50.

An Garda Síochána had the highest average weekly earnings in the public sector at €1,569.22. The highest average hourly earnings in this period were €46.51 in the Education sector.