A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Industrial wages up 2.7% in year to June

Average industrial earnings rose 2.7 per cent in June from the year-earlier month, according to figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office. The average weekly pay increased to €577.31 in June, from €562.21, the numbers showed.

Hourly earnings in the industrial sector were 2.4 per cent ahead of the year-earlier period, while average hours worked in the same period rose by 0.2 per cent . By contrast, average weekly earnings of all employees, including industrial, clerical and managerial, increased by 3.5 per cent in the year to the end of June.

The number of people employed in the industrial sector fell by 6,100 in June this year, compared with the same month a year earlier

Karelian reports positive findings

AIM-listed Karelian Diamond Resources, which was created last year through the separation of Conroy Diamonds and Gold's activities, said preliminary excavations at its Karelian Craton site in Finland have shown good potential for diamond production.

Euro-zone jobless figure edges up

Unemployment in the euro zone inched up again in August after a brief dip in July while surging oil prices boosted producer prices, the European Union's statistics office said yesterday.

The unemployment rate in the 12 countries using the euro was 8.6 per cent in August, Eurostat said, up from a revised 8.5 per cent in July. - (Reuters)