Average weekly earnings rose by 3.4 per cent in 2005 with clerical workers enjoying slightly higher pay increases than industrial workers, new figures show.
The figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the average weekly earnings of an industrial worker increased by 3.1 per cent in 2005 while clerical staff earnings rose by 3.7 per cent.
A breakdown of industrial earnings shows that industrial hourly earnings rose by 2.1 per cent while average hours worked increased by 1 per cent for the same period.
The number of people working in industry was 239,300 at the end of 2005, a decrease of 200 from 2004. However it appears that labour conditions improved towards the end of the year as a seasonally adjusted increase of 2,300 was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2005.