AVERAGE WEEKLY earnings fell by 1.6 per cent in the year to the end of June, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The data shows that earnings in the public sector fell by 4.4 per cent compared with a decline of 0.7 per cent in the private sector.

Overall, average weekly earnings fell to €690.48 in the end of the second quarter, compared to €701.73 a year earlier.

The largest decline in wages was in the education sector, where earnings fell 8.3 per cent. Earnings in transport and storage fell 7.3 per cent. The fall in public sector pay rates was attributed to last December’s budget.

In the first half of this year, weekly earnings fell in companies of all sizes. The statistics show average weekly paid hours fell to 31.7 in the second quarter of 2010, a decline of 0.2 hours or 0.6 per cent over the year. In the private sector, average weekly paid hours fell by 0.6 per cent to the end of June from 32 hours to 31.8 hours. A decrease of 0.3 per cent was recorded in the public sector.

Average hourly earnings fell from €22.02 in the second quarter of last year to €21.79 for the same quarter in 2010. The largest decreases were in the public administration and defence and health and social work sectors.

In the private sector, average hourly earnings were unchanged over the 12 months to the end of June at €19.32.

Public sector hourly earnings fell by 4.2 per cent from €30.07 to €28.81.

Over the year to June 2010, public sector employment fell 2.7 per cent while private sector employment fell 3.7 per cent.