Preliminary estimates for Q4 2021 from the Central Statistics Office show that average earnings rose by 2% year-on-year to €44,050.

Average weekly pay (including EWSS where applicable) increased by 3.4% across all employments between Q3 2021 and Q4 2021.

The sectors showing the largest quarterly percentage increase in average weekly pay were the Financial, insurance & real estate activities sector (+11.3%), the Transportation & storage sector (+9.8%) and the Industry sector (+9.8%).

The proportion of employments supported by the EWSS in Q4 2021 varied across the sectors with the Accommodation & food services sector (66.5%) and the Arts, entertainment, recreation & other service activities sector (38.7%) having the highest proportions.

In the Accommodation & food services sector, EWSS payments represented 45.6% of total earnings.

In Association with

For SME employers with under 50 staff, average pay is currently €36,500 p.a. For companies with 50 to 250 employees, average annual pay is €42,200.

The sectors with the highest average pay are Information and communication (€71,300 ); Financial, insurance and real estate (€63,270  ), Professional, scientific and technical activities (€55,950), and Public administration and defence (€52,930)