Men earn more than women - CSO

Men continue to earn more than women according to new findings from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). Marc Coleman, Economics Editor, reports.

A survey of employment and earnings found that the gender gap differs significantly across sector and age group, but on average women earned €14.93 an hour, or 84 per cent of average male earnings of €17.74.

Across broad economic sectors, the greatest difference was in the financial sector where male earnings of €30.62 on average were almost 50 per cent higher than female earnings of €20.32 .

The gap was lowest in the hotels and restaurants sector where male and female hourly earnings were €10.95 and €9.86 respectively.

In the 15-24 age group, mean hourly earnings were almost equal for male and female staff, at €10.56 and €10.30, respectively. The largest difference was among workers in the 50-59 age group where earnings differed by 16.5 per cent.

The study also found that public sector workers were earning far more than their private sector equivalents across a range of occupations and roles. On average public sector workers earn 40 per cent more than their private sector counterparts.

The National Employment Survey, published yesterday by the CSO, reveals that public sector workers earned an hourly average of €21.04 in 2003 compared with €15.03 an hour for workers in the private sector. Public sector earnings were higher for all occupations except associate professional and technical staff, the survey found.

The greatest differential occurred for personal and protective services where public sector workers earned €15.01 an hour, 46 per cent more than their private sector counterparts. Clerical and secretarial staff earned 25 per cent more in the public sector than in the private sector, while equivalent differentials for professional and managerial staff were 28.4 and 30.5 per cent, respectively.

Irish Small and Medium Enterprises (ISME) chief executive Mark Fielding reacted strongly to the survey's findings. "The higher earning levels in the public sector are a triumph of public sector avarice, greed and bureaucracy over enterprise."