Median earnings for men almost €150 higher per week than women, CSO figures show
Central Statistics Office
(CSO) shows.
The median, or mid-point, in weekly earnings – seen as a more reliable indicator of wealth than the mean, which can be distorted by small numbers of high earners – increased to €730.89 in 2024 from €699.28 the year before.
Mean weekly earnings rose 5.3 per cent to €942.73.
The data also shows that a
gender pay
gap persists, with median weekly earnings among men at €802.14, almost €150 higher than those among women at €654.07.
READ MORE
The gender pay gap does not mean unequal pay for the same work, which is illegal, but instead reflects differences in the representation of men and women in higher paid jobs.
[
Gender pay gap: Ireland's worst offenders in 2024 on hourly pay
Opens in new window
]
The data shows some signs the gap is closing, in that median weekly earnings for women have increased by 10.3 per cent since 2022, compared with 8.1 per cent for men.
However, more than 20 per cent of jobs paid less than €400 per week, of which 63.2 per cent were made up of female employees. Almost 39 per cent of the jobs in this earnings bracket were taken up by workers aged 15-24 years.
In contrast, 12.3 per cent of jobs recorded weekly earnings of €1,600 or more, of which just 34.8 per cent were filled by women.
Despite recording the lowest median weekly earnings, 15 to 24-year-olds recorded the largest annual increase in median weekly earnings at 6 per cent from €353.44 to €374.47.
Irish nationals accounted for the largest proportion of people in employment at 72.5 per cent, followed by those from the EU excluding Ireland (12.1 per cent).
Median weekly earnings among Irish nationals stood at €762.72, which was an increase of 4.8 per cent from €728.03.
While Indian nationals recorded the highest median weekly earnings at €876.04, they were the only group from the individually listed nationalities to record a decrease in median weekly earnings, down 0.9 per cent from €883.74.
CSO statistician Dr Eimear Heffernan said it was possible the decrease among Indian nationals was linked to the fall in the proportion of Indian people working in a number of 'typically high earning economic sectors'.
She said these included information and communication (down 2.1 percentage points); professional, scientific and technical activities (down 0.8 percentage points); and financial, insurance, and property (down 0.3 percentage points).
Jobs in the information and communication (€1,440.36) and financial, insurance and property (€1,027.24) sectors recorded the highest median weekly earnings, while the lowest were recorded among jobs in accommodation and food services (€391.62).
Despite similar annual increases in weekly earnings among public and private sector jobs, the median weekly earnings among public sector jobs (€1,009.44) were 52.5 per cent higher than those in the private sector (€661.87).
The data also show that people working in Dublin are likely to earn more. The median weekly earnings for people usually resident in Dublin were €821.42, which was 12.4 per cent higher than the wider State at €730.89.
Furthermore, earnings in Dublin were 36.1 per cent higher than Donegal at €603.67, which had the lowest median weekly earnings.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
4 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Canadian state wholesaler wants Irish whiskey to replace US spirits in 25,000 outlets, agriculture minister says
Canadian state wholesaler wants Irish whiskey to replace US spirits in 25,000 outlets, agriculture minister says Martin Heydon exploring potential deal in massive boost to the sector Martin Heydon has spoken to the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Photo: Frank McGrath Fearghal O'Connor Today at 06:30 Ireland's embattled whiskey sector could fill the gap left on Canadian liquor shelves following the removal of US drinks products in reaction to Donald Trump's tariffs against America's northern neighbour, a key government-owned alcohol distributor has told the Irish Government.
Irish Independent
4 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
‘I'll start 10,000 homes in the next two to three years,' says developer Ciaran Fitzpatrick
The Irish housing market might be in a state of perpetual crisis but Ciaran Fitzpatrick — one of the country's most ambitious housing developers, has a blueprint for rapid expansion to build thousands of homes.
Irish Independent
4 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
The Sunday Independent's View: EU's supporters must examine why it is losing voters' trust
Beyond a few cranks, there is no real appetite for any form of 'Irexit'. Indeed, the most recent Eurobarometer survey, which tracks public opinion across the 27 member states, found that Ireland continues to share the highest level of trust in the EU's institutions, along with Poland. There are some clouds, nonetheless, on which political weather-watchers would do well to keep an eye, lest they rain on any future parade. On two key markers, those being the continuing nightmare in Gaza and the trade deal the EU concluded last week with US president Donald Trump, today's Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll reveals growing angst at the direction being taken in Brussels. About seven in 10 respondents rate the EU's performance on Israel-Gaza as either bad or very bad. More than half (58pc) also regard the EU's performance on the tariff deal as bad or very bad. Dissatisfaction goes well beyond those two issues. On question after question, Irish voters give a resounding thumbs-down in this poll to the bloc's efforts to tackle problems they are facing every day, be it the cost of living (63pc take a negative view) or immigration (68pc negative, with 0pc rating the EU's performance as 'very good'). Overall, 63pc say their opinion of the EU is either somewhat or much disimproved since the start of the conflict in Gaza, up significantly from 51pc a year ago. These are remarkable figures in a country where there are rarely any stirrings of discontent at the EU, and fewer still since Brexit starkly demonstrated the perils of isolationism. There is no room in the Irish political marketplace for Euroscepticism It speaks of a lack of appreciation of the potential of conflict in Gaza to destabilise domestic politics in Europe. Add in the spanner that Trump has thrown into the works by strong-arming the EU into a trade deal that increasingly appears to represent a capitulation to US might, and the potential for further disruption is obvious. There is no room in the Irish political marketplace for Euroscepticism. Most of us recognise that EU membership has served us well. All the same, complacency must be avoided. Europe has always been able to hide its differences under a comfort blanket of economic stability. The current omnishambles of crises rocking trust in the EU has only been exacerbated since Trump came into office, as he lives up to his reputation as a Great Disruptor. The leverage he now exerts over our economic and political discourse may be uncomfortable for anyone who values democracy over dominance. A significant 77pc of people in our poll believe the EU should have been prepared to risk some disruption of its own by standing up to Trump more on tariffs. Doing so might even have been the making of the EU. Those who cherish the solidity provided by European solidarity must at least use the space provided by the US trade deal, imperfect as it is, to finally confront the bloc's internal divisions. It is these, rather than any malicious actions by the White House, that could prove its undoing. Paying humble attention to the disaffection indicated in our latest poll, rather than breathing a sigh of relief that it has not yet spilled over into more toxic forms of protest, would be a good start.
