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THE AVERAGE WEEKLY earnings are up so far this year, new figures show.
The figures from the CSO show that average weekly earnings rose from €687.67 to €694.96 between in Q3 2011 and 2012. In the last quarter, Q2, earnings increased by 0.5 per cent.
The average weekly working paid hours fell to 31.6 in Q3 this year, which was a slight decrease of 0.9 per cent over the year.
When it came to public sector workers, the numbers stood at 377,900 in Q3 2012, which was a fall of -4.1 per cent (16,200) from the same period last year.
Sectors
Average weekly earnings increased in 8 of the 13 sectors in the year to Q3 2012, with the largest percentage increase in the professional, scientific and technical sector (+8.4 per cent). The largest percentage sectoral decrease in weekly earnings was recorded in the accommodation and food services sector, which was -5.1 per cent.
This quarter was the third successive one where there was a slight increase in average weekly earnings. In the past four years, some sectors have shown changes, such as the arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector, which saw a drop 0f -12.2 per cent, while the financial, insurance and real estate sector was up +5.1 per cent.
Weekly earnings in the private sector rose by 1.6 per cent annually, compared with an increase of 0.9 per cent in the public sector (including semi-state organisations) over the year. This brings average weekly earnings in Q3 2012 to €617.94 and €925.51 respectively.
Hourly earnings
Meanwhile, the average hourly earnings increased to €22.00 between this period in 2012 to last year, which was a rise of €0.42 (+1.9 per cent). Where did we see the largest percentage increases? The largest increase was in construction (+8.8 per cent), followed by the professional, scientific and technical sector (+4.6 per cent).
The largest sectoral percentage decrease was recorded in the arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities sector, which was -2.9 per cent.
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Before the rants about increases in public sector pay start it should be noted that semi state are included in these figures. Semi states are not subject to croke park.
Earnings up but not seen by us joe soaps. The next budget is going to be very interesting. Blood from stone feel about how much more they can squeeze from us to over pay bankers & high ranking public sector wasters.
My wages fell this year, did the CSO just ask Mr. Enda Kenny or do they assume that since electricity prices went up that wages went up? A lot of people I know are finding it harder to pay bills.
They also said that some sectors wages.had dropped
It’s on average of course. You know that. Please don’t sound ignorant. You know Enda Kenny has nothing to do with the publication of these figures.
The cso should stop averaging all workers as the top earners distort the figures for lower paid. Why don’t they publish the figures in a way that separates people into money earned categories, I.e. 20k to 30k, 30k to 40k and so on.
So would I but is like to see the 15-20k shown aswell. Also part time and full time
Spot on John. I’m always portrayed as a PS basher which I’m not. The CP agreement is designed to protect people at the top. We have quangos costing 13 billion a year (seriously) that could all be abolished. There’s a never ending list of senior public servants that could also go. Gardaí make up 3% of the numbers so am not talking about them or other frontline workers.
Here’s an interesting question. What IS the pay bill for frontline teachers, nurses, Gardaí ?
@John If the CSO split out wages their bosses (top civil “servants”) would have no where to hide, no justification for their attacks on keeping tax rates low for all civil servants. A CSO worker who would even think of doing an honest and try reflection of people’s wages would probably get sacked.
I’m public sector worker (3rd level degree holder) and I would love to get the €22p/h average pay quoted.
377,000 public servants earning an average of 308 euro per week more than an average private sector worker. That’s 116 million a week more in total or 6 billion a year.
It’s interesting. That’s all I’m saying. Interesting.
@ scrap CP 1
Why so defensive ?. Facts are facts. We haven’t had a good PS private sector spat in Ohhhh ??? 3 days
Are TDs wages in that figure, how about the Public Interest Directors on bank boards? I dislike how front line civil servants such as nurses, guards, teachers, ambulance personal etc… are being vilified when they are being paid less than they deserve for the work they do. It is the Fat Cats at the top who should be dealt with but TDs won’t do that because they are in that cartel of high earning civil servants who are being insulated from the economic meltdown the rest of us are suffering from. Just take Fine Gael’s threat to cut welfare rates if those on ?100K are asked to pay additional tax. Shame on them and shame on them for vilifying the hard working front line staff mentioned. (By the way I am a private sector employee so I am not standing up for my own).
Are you covering the whole of the private sector in that estimation? Accountants, directors, burger flippers and part time shop assistants?
Not that interesting really – just look at the average level of education of private vs. public sector workers.
NOT all public sector workers earn 308 euro per week more than an average private sector worker, some of us actually earn €200 less than the average private sector!!!!!!!
So STOP bashing the low paid public sector workers.
larger % of public sector workforce with 3rd level qualifications, more part time jobs in private sector, nobody “paid under the table” in public sector. Semi-state bodies included in public sector numbers.
Chalk and cheese – though there is no denying that those salaries at the top of public sector need a good looking at…..
@ Csec
‘front line civil servants such as nurses, guards, teachers, ambulance personal etc… are being vilified when they are being paid less than they deserve for the work they do’
That’s a bit of a statement. Who decided that they are getting paid less than they deserve?
@ Tomy,
Amazing isn’t it that all the small monkeys look up to see what the big monkeys are getting
I’m a public sector worker and I don’t earn even close to €694.96 per week, so saying all 377,000 of us are on €200 more than those in the private sector is just tabloid commenting trying to stir up even more rubbish. It shouldn’t be public VS. private sector, it shouldn’t even be rich VS. poor, it should be honest hard-working people VS. Self-serving country wreckers.
That’s easily explained by the fact that private sector includes large amounts of unskilled jobs while public sector has less of them. There is no equivalent of a cleaner or fast food worker in the public sector for example.
@Josh Front line staff do most of the work, take most of the public abuse as bosses sit in their ivory towers and play on their iPads. I am of the opinion that those who does most work should get most pay. That is not the case in Ireland.
I never said you all earned 308 more per week. I said it was an average. Which some (I’m guessing a lot) of PS workers are getting rightly shat on while the sizable contingent of county managers, fire chiefs, serial Quango sitters, senior HSE staff are having a right old time
Lab porters are basically cleaners.
I work 40/week as a cleaner in the dep of agriculture for €360/week
Wages haveant changed muxh in 7 years bar maybe a odd 1 or 2% JLC increase
Lab porters are basically cleaners.
I work 40/week as a cleaner in the dep of agriculture for €360/week
Wages haveant changed muxh in 7 years bar maybe a odd 1 or 2% JLC increase
I work for a contractor biased in the UK
2 friends of mine in private sector have received increases in the last year. I m in a semi-state and am facing another cut! This averaging is not telling the whole story!
@Josh – I’m sure you have a point but that doesn’t make one – any chance on saying what you mean with no ambiguity?
David – Its before taxes. Plus its an average which includes fat cats wages, it is not the reality of the average workers joe’s weekly wage packet.
I know it’s before taxes. I also know its inclusive of fat cats but it also includes the lowest pay grades. I meant what I said. €22ph before taxes and levies would be nice.
mmmm wages slightly up will give the powers that be an excuse the slash and burn us in April. They wont touch us workers in December, it will be a sweetner before April’s budget from hell.
They won’t touch me because I can under-declare my tax liabilities. €30 Billion to bondholders.
Budget is Dec 5th
The average waged worker is simply surviving – always has been, always will be. Public versus private sector spats are like seagulls at a skip fighting over scraps. Have some dignity.
bench mark the public sector to our European partners and make the public sector provide the service…
the public sector (& semi state) should not be a jobs club with a entitlement culture that’s ignoring the public who pays for all this.
Benchmark private sector pay and cost of living at same time.
Wow. Can’t believe you got so many thumbs down. Why should a teacher in Ireland be payed way more than teacher in Germany and yet their taxes are bailing us out. They SHOULD BE PAYED THE SAME at best.
I haven’t done comparison on pay vs cost of living. Have you?
David why is it more expensive to live in rip off Ireland? Wages maybe?
A billion people live on less than a dollar a day. It costs very little to “live”.
The cost of living is a strange expression. Should people get payed more because they live in an expensive area?
That’d be grand if the cost of living here was as low as in Germany!
That’s fine. But you cannot restrict it to just public sector. The min wage in Germany is lower than here. That much I do know however I do not know if teachers are paid less in Germany. I also think the population density has something to do with cost of providing services and therefore cost/standard 216414330of living.
@jack. Up until 2010 primary school teachers started on 39k pa which is an extraordinary salary for a 22 year old. It’s since been reduced for new entrants only to 27k pa – still a nice start.
Having said that, a teacher new to the profession is expected to hit the ground running on day 1 of their career and are held to the same standard as someone with 30 years experience. So they probably deserve higher pay from the start. But extra allowances for having basic degrees or even masters are a bit much.
As is the system where they can hold their job open for 30 years or more if they get elected to the Dáil (as Enda Kenny did)
@scrap croke- 2 budgets over next 5 months. December 5th and next April.
IMO I think April will hit us hard.
@rob. The April one is news to me. Where did u read about that?
This might be a stupid question but are those numbers before or after tax?
This ‘average’ lark when calculating salaries is and always has been ridiculous!! There are just too many factors to consider. It’s very hard to calculate a true average when people in each sector are earning such hugely different amounts
That would be true if the samples were small. But both samples are well large enough to be statistically significant
have your say