Labour productivity stood at €125.3 per in Ireland in 2025, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Labour productivity is defined as the output per hour worked and is a key indicator of economic efficiency and competitiveness.
There was a significant difference in labour productivity in the domestic economy and in sectors dominated by foreign-owned companies: €65.8 per hour vs €507.3 per hour.
Labour productivity across the economy increased by 6.1% last year, driven by the foreign-dominated sector, which saw labour productivity rise by 14.2%.
Growth in gross value added (7.8%) outpaced growth in hours worked (1.6%).
Remarkably, in the domestic sector labour productivity decreased by 0.8% last year, as hours worked grew faster than gross value added.
In 2025, 43.6% of foreign-owned companies reported using AI technologies, which was nearly 2.7 times higher than the uptake among Irish-owned companies, at 16.3%.
This CSO release also shows how Ireland compared with EU peers in 2024.
Driven by the performance of multinationals, Ireland had the highest labour productivity (€117.8 per hour) compared with other EU member states in 2024, while the Domestic sector (€66.3 per hour) was considerably closer to the EU average (€45.9 per hour).
On average, across the EU, labour productivity grew by 0.2% in 2024, compared with growth of 1.8% in Ireland.
