Average earnings fell by €1,000 over 4 years

There has been a €3bn decrease in the country’s wage bill in the space of four years with the average worker’s earnings falling by €1,000 over the same period.

The significant drop, identified in figures released by the Central Statistics Office, appears to be at least partially linked to the sizeable reductions in wage rates in a number of key sectors. For example, between 2009 and 2013, average earnings fell by 9.7% in the human health and social-work sector; 8.6% in the accommodation and food sector; 7.9% in education; and 7.2% in construction. There were increases in other sectors but, for the most part these were much smaller. One exception was in information and communication where there was a 10% increase. Overall, the total annual earnings nationally fell by 5.3% from €59.3bn in 2009 to €56.1bn in 2013.

Another key reason for the decline in total pay over the four-year period is the collapse of the construction industry. In 2009, €3.8bn was paid out in wages in the sector. That fell to €2.1bn in 2013 — a total drop of 43%. The CSO figures also show that average annual earnings fell to €35,830 in 2013 from €36,079 in 2012, a decrease of 0.7%. That compared to an increase of 0.5% between 2011 and 2012. The decrease between 2012-2013 is in spite of the fact that, across the economic sectors, average annual earnings rose in seven of the 13 sectors in the year to 2013. The largest percentage increase was in the arts, entertainment, recreation at 4.5%. The biggest percentage decrease was recorded in the human health and social-work sector (-2.7%). Education was another large sector which saw a decline in average earnings (2.5%).

Overall, the sector with the highest average earnings was information and communication (€53,067). It was followed by financial insurance and real estate (€51,306) and public administration and defence (€48,283). The sector with the lowest average wages was accommodation and food services (€16,128) followed by arts, entertainment and recreation (€25,158) and wholesale and retail (€27,252).

Meanwhile, Argos has announced it is looking for 500 seasonal workers across the country to join existing store teams in the run up to the peak Christmas shopping season.

Andy McClelland, the company’s operations manager here, said: “As we approach our busiest shopping period of the year, we need the extra support in our stores to ensure that we can deliver great service to the hundreds of thousands of customers who shop with us at this time. We are looking for people who are customer focused, passionate and enthusiastic.”

- For more job details see ArgosChristmasPresent.com