More than a quarter of a million people were employed in the public sector in June this year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
When staff employed in the health services are included, this total rises from 250,100 to 354,900, more than 6,000 higher than in the same month in 2005.
The CSO said that public sector, excluding health, earned €878.65 per week, up 4.8 per cent in the year to June.
