The sector with the fastest pay rise is the cheapest hour to hire

Where the increase came from

Preliminary figures from the Central Statistics Office put average weekly earnings at 1,046.88 euros in the second quarter, up from 1,007.58 euros, a rise of 3.9 per cent. The consumer price index rose 3.6 per cent over the same period. Average weekly paid hours also lengthened, from 32.7 to 32.8, a rise of 0.3 per cent. Average hourly earnings rose 3.8 per cent, from 30.79 euros to 31.96 euros.^[1]

The longer week accounts for a small part of that; the pay rate itself moved 3.8 per cent, two tenths of a point above the price index. Hourly earnings rose in all 13 sectors while weekly earnings rose in 12. In one sector the hourly rate went up and the weekly total did not, so its workers took a better rate along with a shorter week.^[1]

A large percentage on a small base

The largest annual increase in weekly earnings, 7.7 per cent, was in accommodation and food service activities, followed by administrative and support services at 5.6 per cent. The same dataset puts total hourly labour costs in accommodation and food at 20.27 euros, the lowest of the 13 sectors. In information and communication, the highest, the same cost is 61.40 euros.^[1]

The fastest percentage increase sits on the lowest base and closes the distance between the two sectors slowly: the 7.7 per cent applies to an hour that costs 20.27 euros in total, while the same hour in information and communication costs 61.40 euros. Another reading is available: these are preliminary averages and they offer no median. A change in hours worked or in the mix of workers inside a sector can lift the average without any individual rate moving.^[1]

The employer's hour and the worker's hour

Average hourly other labour costs rose 5.7 per cent, from 5.46 euros to 5.77 euros, above the 3.8 per cent in hourly earnings. Total hourly labour costs rose 4.1 per cent to 37.73 euros. The job vacancy rate held at 1.3 per cent, unchanged from a year earlier and 0.1 per cent above the rate at the end of the first quarter.^[1]

The increase in what an hour costs an employer outpaced the increase in what the worker earns in that hour. With the vacancy rate flat for a year, there is no scarcity signal pulling bargaining power up either. If hourly earnings growth stays within about half a point of consumer price inflation, the euro gap between the highest-cost and lowest-cost sectors will not narrow in the third-quarter figures for 2026. The place to look is the sector table of the next earnings and labour costs release.^[1]