Revealed: The average weekly earnings in Ireland this year

Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show average weekly earnings in the second quarter were €1,046.88, up 3.9% from €1,007.58 during the same period in 2025.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, average weekly earnings increased just 1.7% from €1,031.03 to €1,048.49.

Over the same period, consumer prices increased by 3.6%.

Average hourly earnings rose 3.8% or €1.17 year-on-year from €30.79 to €31.96 after the national minimum wage was increased from €13.50 to €14.15 per hour.

Adjusted, per-hour earnings went up 0.6% from €31.83 to €32.02. The number of hours in an average work week grew marginally (+0.3%) to 32.8.

Average hourly other labor costs increased by 5.7% to €5.77 in Q2 2026, from €5.46 in Q2 2025, so average hourly total labor costs grew 4.1% year-on-year from €36.26 to €37.73.

Information & communication had the highest average hourly total labor costs at €61.40, followed by €53.79 in financial, insurance & real estate activities and €49.51 in education.

The sectors with the lowest cost of employing labor were the accommodation & food services activities sector at €20.27 and the arts, sports, recreation & other service activities sector at €28.51.

On a sectoral basis, average weekly earnings grew most quickly in the accommodation & food service activities industry at 7.7%, jumping from €470.59 to €506.78.

The second-largest increase was 5.6% in the administrative & support service activities sector, as pay rose from €794.50 to €838.79 over the year.

Professional, scientific & technical activities followed, with wages rising 5.4% or €66.40 to €1,294.65.

There were also pay increases ahead of the market average for workers in construction (+4.3% to €1,089.21) and industry (+4% to €1,171.84).

However, workers in other service activities employment saw their pay decline by 4.7% to an average of €679.73.

Over the past three years, average weekly earnings rose by 14.8%, with pay in all sectors increasing over the period and led by construction, where pay has risen by more than a fifth (+21%).

The other sectors where pay has risen by more than average in that time were administration & support services (+17.4%), accommodation & food services (+17.2%), professional, scientific & technical activities (+15.7%) and the wholesale & retail trade (+15.1%).

 Weekly earnings in construction have jumped 21% in the past three years.
Arts, sports, recreation & other service activities jobs have only seen weekly earnings rise by 9.4% in the past three years while information & communication pay has risen 11.3%.

Average hourly total labor costs increased by 14.5% over the three years to Q2 2026, from €32.94 per hour to €37.73.

* This article was originally published on BusinessPlus.ie.