Average earnings in construction increased by 12.5 per cent in the year to the end of June, according to official figures from the Central Statistics Office.

At the end of June the average weekly rate for clerical and operative workers increased to £355.57 from £315.98 at the end of June 1997. There was also an increase of 12.4 per cent in the hourly rate paid to all grades - from £6.85 to £7.70, while the number of hours worked rose by 0.2 per cent.

Wages of skilled operatives increased by 18.1 per cent from £365.616 to £431.71, with a 4 per cent increase in the number of hours worked.

But the weekly earnings for unskilled workers grew by 5.1 per cent from £294.36 to £309.49, while the number of hours worked each week fell from 47.2 to 46.7.