Latest news with #CentralStatisticsOffice
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Median earnings for men almost €150 higher per week than women, CSO figures show
Median weekly earnings increased by 4.5 per cent last year, new data from the 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.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ireland's Economy Contracts as U.S. Front-Running Cools
Ireland's economy contracted in the three months through June following a first-quarter surge, and faces an uncertain future as U.S. tariffs rise, while the government plans to ramp up its investment spending. A surge in exports of pharmaceuticals to the U.S. led Ireland to far outstrip the growth rates of other rich economies in the three months through March, with gross domestic product expanding by 7.4%, the equivalent of an annualized rate of 33%. By contrast, the U.S. economy contracted over the same period. Five Signs of a Market Bubble Investors Are Tracking With Individual Home Buyers on the Sidelines, Investors Swoop Into the Market A Tiny Company Is Vouching for Risky Insurers in Hurricane Country The High-Schoolers Who Just Beat the World's Smartest AI Models Luxury Brands Are Getting Hit by a Vibe Shift However, much of that surge was driven by U.S. businesses building stocks ahead of anticipated tariff increases. As that driver ran out of steam in the three months through June, GDP fell by 0.1% from the previous quarter. 'This was driven by a decrease in the multinational dominated sector of Industry,' said Enda Behan, a statistician at the Central Statistics Office. That turnaround in Irish growth is likely to be a headwind for the eurozone as a whole, which had a stronger-than-expected start to the year, but has faced higher tariffs on its exports to the U.S. since April. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expect figures to be released Wednesday will record a small decline in eurozone GDP in the three months through June. Further ahead, that headwind may build. President Trump has threatened to impose high tariffs on imports of pharmaceuticals from Ireland in an effort to persuade U.S. businesses to make more of their drugs back home. While a deal agreed Sunday between Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sets a tariff of 15% on many imports to the U.S. from Europe, the duties on pharmaceuticals don't appear to have been settled. Attracting U.S. businesses that seek access to the wider European Union has been a central part of Ireland's economic strategy for half a century. But over recent years, much of the output of U.S. pharmaceutical makers based in the country has been intended for the U.S., partly as a way of lowering tax bills. So while tariffs on the scale proposed by Trump would weaken Ireland's pharmaceutical industry, they would likely not destroy it, with exports to the rest of Europe and further afield continuing as before. 'More than half of Ireland's pharmaceutical exports would not be affected by U.S. tariffs because they go to other countries and the sector should continue to be internationally competitive even if the U.S. imposes tariffs,' said Andrew Kenningham, chief European economist at Capital Economics. As with the much-larger Germany, one of Ireland's responses to the economic threat from the U.S. is to ramp up spending on its frayed infrastructure. Ireland is facing a significant shortage of housing, and the networks that are needed to deliver the water and power new homes will need. Its capital city may be Europe's technology hub, but it lacks a rail link to its airport, which is standard elsewhere. It has no subway, and its buses still take coins as payment. 'A shortage of infrastructure in key areas is limiting the growth potential of the economy,' economists at the Central Bank of Ireland wrote in a June. To remedy these deficiencies, the government Tuesday announced a 34 billion euro increase in investment spending to more than 112 billion euros for the five years from 2026. 'By any measure, this will represent the largest investment in economic and social infrastructure in the history of the state,' said Prime Minister Micheál Martin. 'This money will go directly to addressing a range of issues critical to our future.' Unlike Germany, it will not have to borrow to pay for the new investment, since it can draw on at least 13 billion euros of back taxes that the European Union deemed Apple liable to pay, as well as the proceeds from the sale of its remaining stake in one of the banks it acquired during the global financial crisis. However, finding the workers to build the needed infrastructure has been a problem, with the unemployment rate at 4% in June, just above its record low. An economic slowdown prompted by tariffs, while unwelcome, might free up some needed labor. 'If economic growth slows materially, then this investment could be absorbed with a lower risk of excess demand and inflationary pressures,' the central bank said. Write to Paul Hannon at The Depopulation Bomb 'We Have All the Trees We Need.' Trump Wants to Revive the Lumber Industry. Why You Should Use a Password Manager for All Your Secrets, Not Just Logins Forget Cartier: Made-in-China Luxury Captivates Chinese Consumers Citi Rolls Out a New Premium Card in Fight for Affluent Customers Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Irish gross domestic product contracts amid fall-off in pharmaceuticals
Irish gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 1% between April and June, compared to the first quarter of the year, following a contraction in the pharmaceuticals-dominated industry sector, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows. According to the CSO's preliminary GDP estimate for the second quarter, GDP is estimated to have contracted by 1% quarter-on-quarter. It said this was driven by a decrease in the multinational-dominated industry sector, which includes pharmaceutical companies. The contraction comes after a period of significant expansion in the pharmaceutical and exports sector during the first three months of the year, as companies rushed to get as much product to the US prior to US president Donald Trump implementing tariffs. Mr Trump announced his tariff plans on April 1 — which initially set a tariff of 20% on imports from the EU — before he backtracked and set the tariff rate for all imports into the US at 10%. Following a deal on Sunday, EU tariffs will be set at 15%. While GDP might be down quarter-on-quarter, it is still up 12.5% compared to the same period in 2024, reflecting continued strong multinational growth in 2025. GDP is not the most accurate measure of the strength of the domestic Irish economy owing to the presence of numerous multinational corporations here. The activity of these companies have a significant impact on the final GDP figures. For this reason, the preferred measure of the domestic economy is modified domestic demand, as it strips out the activity of the multinationals and only accounts for personal spending, government spending, and investment spending. The CSO said these preliminary results were subject to revisions in the next quarterly national accounts release. Read More Grocery price inflation rises slightly in July
Irish Post
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Post
Irish exports to Russia hit their highest rate in 10 years
IRELAND'S exports to Russia have surged to their highest levels since 2015. This is despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Irish goods exported to Russia reached nearly €398 million in the first five months of 2025, surpassing figures recorded at any time since the CSO began tracking such data a decade ago. This rise in trade has drawn strong criticism from the Ukrainian Embassy in Dublin, which called the continued export activity 'indefensible.' In a statement, the embassy said there is no 'moral, political, or economic justification' for maintaining commercial ties with a country engaged in what it described as a 'brutal and illegal war of aggression.' 'Every euro and every product sent to Russia strengthens its capacity to kill, destroy, and destabilise not only Ukraine but the entire European continent,' the embassy said. 'It is indefensible to supply money and goods to a regime that openly defies the rules-based international order.' The growth in exports has been driven mainly by medicinal and pharmaceutical products, valued at about €113 million. These goods are exempt from international sanctions due to their humanitarian value. Exports of metalliferous ores and metal scrap rose to €183.4 million. Additionally, exports of essential oils, perfume materials and toilet preparations nearly doubled year-on-year to more than €60 million. The Ukrainian Embassy warned that continuing 'business as usual' in sensitive sectors undermines the credibility of the international sanctions regime and weakens the unified response against Russian aggression. This comes at a time when the EU, Britain and the US are trying to close loopholes in their sanctions framework. While Ireland has publicly supported Ukraine through humanitarian aid and political backing, the CSO data suggests a growing disconnect between official policy and actual economic engagement. See More: CSO, Irish Exports, Russia, Russia-Ukraine War
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
GDP shrank by 1% in Q2, preliminary CSO estimate shows
A preliminary estimate from the Central Statistics Office shows that gross domestic product fell 1% in the second quarter from the previous three months but was 12.5% higher than the same time a year ago. The Department of Finance prefers to rely on other data and caution against using GDP to gauge economic growth, as the latter is routinely distorted by foreign multinationals. But GDP is still used to calculate Ireland's share of activity across the euro zone. Irish GDP jumped 7.4% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of the year and 20% year-on-year due to a surge in pharmaceutical exports to the US ahead of threatened tariffs, inflating the average growth rate across the euro zone. Today's preliminary results are subject to revisions in the Quarterly National Accounts release, which will be published in early September when additional data sources are available to the CSO.
