Happier Irish put austerity woes aside

Irish people may be in the throes of austerity with wages little more than the OECD average, but we are some of the most satisfied people.

As is to be expected, our unemployment is comparatively high with just 60% of Irish people aged 15 to 64 having a paid job, below the OECD employment average of 66%.

But Irish people work just 1 543 hours a year, less the OECD average of 1 776 hours. Almost 4% of employees work very long hours, much lower than the OECD average of 9%, with 7% of men working very long hours compared with just 1% for women.

In Ireland, the average household net-adjusted disposable income is $24,104 (€18,725) a year, just over the OECD average of $23,047 a year. But, according to the OECD Better Life Index, there is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest, with the top 20% earning five times as much as the bottom 20%.

In general, Irish people are more satisfied with their lives, with 84% of people saying they have more positive experiences in an average day than negative feelings of pain, worry, sadness or boredom. The OECD average is 80%.

About 63% of Irish men are in paid work, compared with 56% of women. This difference is lower than the OECD average of 12 percentage points, and suggests Ireland could further improve employment opportunities for women, but has been somewhat successful in addressing the barriers women face accessing work.

The average Irish student scored 497 in reading literacy, maths and science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment, in line with the OECD average. Irish girls outperformed boys by 11 points, more than the average OECD gap of 9 points.

Some 94% of people say they are satisfied with their current housing situation, more than the OECD average of 87% and one of the highest rates in the OECD.

A key to Irish people’s relative happiness may lie in our active participation in civic society. On average, people in Ireland spend 8 minutes per day in volunteering activities, one of the highest figures in the OECD where the average is 4 minutes per day.

Around 64% of those questioned reported having helped a stranger in the last month, much more than the OECD average of 48%.