Builders’ earnings up less than 1pc last year despite high demand

Average weekly earnings for builders were just 0.4pc higher at the end of 2023 than they were a year earlier, while average hourly earnings were up 0.9pc, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

That is well below the economy-wide average of 2.1pc.

Tech workers are making around 4pc more than they did a year ago and remain the highest-paid employees in the country, in spite of recent layoffs in the sector.

But civil servants are earning less than they were in 2022, partly as a result of earlier payouts from backdated wage agreements, the CSO said.

Average hourly earnings were €28.43 in the fourth quarter of 2023, the CSO said in its latest earnings and labour cost survey.

Education and information and communications workers earned over €42 per hour, while accommodation and food service workers earned just €16.63.

In hourly terms, average earnings were up in 10 out of 13 sectors. Transport and storage workers saw the biggest average fall in earnings, year on year, followed by public servants and education workers.

Weekly earnings at the end of last year were €921.81.

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Tech workers are by far the highest paid in weekly terms, largely because of more hours worked at high hourly rates.

Average weekly earnings were up in 12 out of 13 sectors in the year — every sector bar public administration and defence, where earnings fell 0.7pc year on year.

Arts and entertainment workers saw the largest increase in average weekly earnings, at 9.8pc year on year.

Meanwhile, the job vacancy rate fell to 1pc at the end of last year, down from 1.3pc at the end of 2022.

Despite a high demand for housing, the construction sector had the lowest vacancy rate in the economy, at 0.4pc, the same as the transport sector. The vacancy rate was also very low — at 0.5pc — in the wholesale and retail, accommodation and food and arts and entertainment sectors.

The public administration and defence sector had the highest job vacancy rate at 2.4pc.

Since the end of 2018, average earnings are up by more than a fifth (21pc), in both hourly and weekly terms.

In weekly terms, the tech sector has seen a 35pc increase in earnings in the same period, compared to just 3.3pc in the transport and storage sector.

Private sector weekly earnings were up 23.6pc while public sector weekly earnings were up 15.7pc in the same period.