Preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office show that average earnings here continue to increase with average weekly earnings in the second quarter of this year rising by 3.9% to €1,046.88 from €1,007.58 the same time last year.
The Consumer Price Index increased by 3.6% over the same time period.
The CSO said that average hourly earnings rose by 3.8% to €31.96 in the second quarter of 2026 from €30.79 in the second quarter of last year.
It noted that average weekly earnings rose across 12 of the 13 economic sectors with the largest annual percentage increase in average weekly earnings of 7.7% in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, followed by a rise of 5.6% in the Administrative & Support Service Activities sector.
Meanwhile, average hourly earnings grew on an annual basis by 3.8% to €31.96, increasing in all 13 economic sectors.
Average weekly paid hours increased by 0.3% from 32.7 in the second quarter of 2025 to 32.8 in the second quarter of 2026.
Today’s CSO figures reveal that average hourly other labour costs increased by 5.7% across all economic sectors to €5.77 from €5.46, while average hourly total labour costs increased by 4.1% to €37.73.
The sector with the highest average hourly total labour costs in the three month from April to June was Information & Communication at €61.40. The lowest average total labour costs were in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector, which recorded a rate of €20.27.
They also reveal that the the job vacancy rate in the second quarter of the year – which measures job vacancies on the last working day of the quarter – was 1.3%, unchanged from the same time last year, and up 0.1% from the rate recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2026.
