The average weekly earnings for clerical and operative workers in the construction industry fell by 2.4 per cent from €842.29 to €822.31 in the 12 months to the end of December, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
During the same period there was an increase of 2.3 per cent in the hourly rate paid to all grades - from €18.77 to €19.20.
However, the number of hours worked per week fell by 4.7 per cent from 44.9 hours to 42.8 hours and weekly earnings for adult unskilled workers fell by 5 per cent from €838.96 to €796.63.
The hourly rate for unskilled workers rose from €17.56 to €17.65 and the number of hours worked each week decreased
from 47.8 to 45.1
Skilled operatives saw their weekly earnings decrease by 3.1 per cent from €942.51 to €913.07 over the year. The Their hourly rate rose from €21.02 to €21.22 while the number of hours worked each week decreased from 44.8 to 43.
