Figures show how much asylum seekers earn compared to the general population

New statistics from the Central Statistics Office showed that the majority of asylum seekers worked in admin. File picture

Asylum seekers earned over €160 less a week than the average worker in Ireland in 2024, with a majority working in admin, hospitality or wholesale/retail jobs.

New statistics from the Central Statistics Office showed that earnings varied widely, with those working in administrative or support services earning a median of €577.49 a week while those in accommodation or food services had median weekly earnings of €445.24.

The figures also show that a majority of asylum seekers entered the workforce once permitted to do so.

“It should be noted that the waiting period for international protection applicants to enter the labour market was reduced from nine months to six months in 2021,” CSO statistician in the labour market and earnings analysis division Darragh Turner said.

“Of all the members of this group whose allowance had a start date in 2021, there were 57.5% in employment in 2022. The proportion of this group with a start date in 2022 that were in employment in 2023 was 66.1%, and for those with a start date in 2023 and employment in 2024 was 59.0%.” 

While the median weekly earnings for the general population in 2024 was €711.56, this was €544.09 for international protection applicants.

However, the rate at which wages are rising has been faster for those in international protection with the median wages rising by 15.5% between 2022 and 2024 compared to 9.8% for the general population.

For men and women, the highest proportion of those employed was in the 30-39 age bracket, and this group had the highest earnings for both sexes at €556.46. The lowest earners were those aged 15-24.

Latest CSO analysis on employment outcomes for International Protection Applicants 2022-2024https://t.co/knziZHm3ZJ#CSOIreland #Ireland #Population #PopulationEstimates #Migration #MigrationEstimates pic.twitter.com/4q5ez4XzoM

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 13, 2026

“The general employment population had higher median weekly earnings in 10 out of the 11 economic sectors, the only exception was in the Accommodation & Food Services sector where the IPA group earned €445.24 compared with the general employment population who earned €391.15 in 2024,” the CSO said.

In terms of country of origin, the CSO said asylum seekers from Georgia had the highest median weekly earnings at €658.60, followed by Zimbabwe at €566.55.