One fifth of workers say salary doesn’t cover their rent

The high cost of rent and issues sparked by Brexit cast a shadow over an otherwise improving economic picture, according to an annual salary survey of employers and workers.

The survey was compiled from the views of 7,400 companies and 40,000 employees across multiple industry sectors, and found that one fifth of employees said their salary was not covering their rent.

It also indicated that workers not based in Dublin are reluctant to move to the capital without a significant pay hike, while those in Dublin are not keen on moving out for a job elsewhere with less money.

In more positive news, a large percentage of employers said they expected to pay bonuses to staff this year, while 70% of employees said they expected their salary to increase in 2017.

The marginal tax rate and the cost of rental accommodation are seen as hindering employment possibilities, while almost one third of employers said they expected to lose staff because of increasing rents.

The number of Irish returning from overseas is still low, but the overall outlook is still positive, with 72% of employers planning to pay bonuses in 2017.

Almost half of employees living outside Dublin said they would need a salary increase of over 20% to move there, while a similar percentage of employees said they would only be prepared to drop their salary by less than 3% to work outside the capital.

Some workers are already financially squeezed, with one fifth of those questioned claiming their salary could not accommodate the rental increases they experienced in the past year, while 44% of employees surveyed said they had no private pension, with over half of those saying they had no plans to put one in place in 2017.

About 41% of employers said the shortage of rental accommodation was affecting their ability to recruit staff, while almost one third of employees said up to a quarter of their take-home pay is spent on rent.

The survey also showed that 80% of employees would like to work a six-hour day, as recently introduced by Sweden.

Regarding Brexit, both employers and employees said it would have some impact on their salary prospects or their firm’s profitability in the medium term, but they were more concerned about employment mobility prospects between Ireland, the UK, and Europe.

The Abrivia Recruitment Salary Survey and Employment Trends was carried out with Trinity Business School at TCD.