The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has compiled the data for earnings and labour costs for the first half of 2016, and with that has revealed the best-paid jobs in Ireland.
‘Highest paid jobs in Ireland’ is probably a common enough Google search term here, as people within different sectors – and those wanting to enter a new sector – attempt to see where new opportunities lie.
With that in mind, the CSO has now released its calculations on the average weekly earnings of different sectors based on final data from Q1 2016 and preliminary data on Q2 2016.
From an economic perspective, it is noticeable that the average hourly earnings of the entire country has increased marginally by 0.2pc to €21.93 per hour from €21.89.
But, in terms of which sectors pay the most in Ireland, the best place to be is in the information and communications sector, with an average weekly earnings of €1,063.89.
The CSO has found that this average earnings figure has increased by 13.1pc since 2011.
The second-largest weekly earnings are in the broad sector of finance, insurance and real estate, where people make on average €1,014.66 per week, and this is another sector that has seen a considerable increase over the past five years, jumping by 11.1pc.
Looking at the preliminary Q2 2016 figures, the CSO found that the largest percentage increase in weekly earnings was in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector.
Image via CSO
Education has best hourly pay
Based on its findings, this sector’s average weekly earnings rose by 5pc based on last year, from an average of €800.41 to €840.39 this year.
The second largest percentage increase was in construction, rising by 3.9pc from €706.83 last year to €734.49 this year.
Meanwhile, the financial, insurance and real estate sector rose by 2.5pc from €990.15 to €1,014.66.
Despite a drop in the average weekly earnings in the education sector over the past five years by 4.4pc, it now has the highest average hourly earnings rate of €33.90.
This just pips the information and communication sector, that has an average hourly earnings of €29.71.
In terms of the lowest-paying jobs, the accommodation and food services sector, as well as the arts and entertainment sector scored the lowest average weekly earnings.
According to the figures, those employed in these sectors earn an average weekly amount of €331.86 and €467.77, respectively.
Signing a cheque image via Shutterstock
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