Despite its relevance to broad areas of public policy, detailed assessments of the structure and distribution of the income of workers in the Republic of Ireland has been limited. The latest NERI Research inBrief examines the distribution of work related earnings for both employees and the self-employed.
The key points from the analysis, which use the latest available data which is for 2013, are:
The distribution of employee income roughly divides into quarters:
• 26% earn less than €15,000 per annum;
• 28% earn between €15,000 and €30,000;
• 24.5% earn between €30,000 and €50,000; and
• 21.5% earn more than €50,000.
At the top of the distribution, 5% of employees earn more than €85,000 and 3.5% earn more than €100,000.
The distribution of self-employment income roughly divides into thirds:
• 33.1% earn less than €10,000;
• 32.3% earn between €10,000 and €25,000; and
• 34.6% earn more than €25,000.
7.5% of the self-employed earn more than €75,000 and 3% earn more than €100,000.
A full copy of the study is available here.
The inBrief complements a recent NERI Working paper which is available here: Collins, M.L. (2015), ‘Earnings and Low Pay in the Republic of Ireland: A Profile and Some Policy Issues’ NERI Working Paper, 2015/29. Dublin, NERI.