Average weekly earnings rise 5.6% to €979.71, says CSO

Job vacancy rate down to 1.1% at end of 2024

Average weekly earnings rose 5.6% to €979.71 in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said. (Picture: iStock)

Average weekly earnings rose 5.6% to €979.71 in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said.

The figures for October, November, and December 2024 show average weekly earnings were up 5.6% compared with €927.98 in Q4 2023. Average hourly earnings rose by 6.2% to €30.21, from €28.44 in Q4 2023.

“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," said CSO statistician Louise Egan. Average weekly earnings rose across all 13 sectors, the CSO said.

The largest annual percentage increase in average weekly earnings in Q4 2024 was 6.6% in the information and communication sector, with the second largest increase of 6.5% seen in the education sector. Gardaí 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.

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 total labour costs were €35.52 across all economic sectors in Q4 2024. The highest averages for hourly total labour costs in Q4 2024 were €59.77 in information and communication, and €48.65 in education. The lowest average total labour costs were in the accommodation and food service activities sector, which recorded a rate of €18.66.

There were 25,400 job vacancies (1.1%) at the end of Q4 2024, down 700 from the end of Q4 2023. The highest job vacancy rates in Q4 2024 were 3.4% in the public administration and defence sector, followed by 2.0% in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector.