Whose on the Minimum Wage?
A new NERI research paper estimates the number of workers on the minimum wage and further profiles these workers by gender, by the sector they work in and by their employment status (full-time, part-time, permanent, temporary etc). The data also allows an examination of the household/family...
NERI Seminar Dublin: Whose on the Minimum Wage?
This presentation was delivered to an NERI seminar on July 1st 2015. The seminar links to an NERI working paper available here.
Monday Blog: First principle: Do no harm
On Thursday of this week just as half a million children at primary school begin their summer holidays many thousands of children in families with one parent face a drop in family income - a sharp drop in some cases by as much as €140 per week. Just at a time when working parents are under severe...
Monday Blog: Solidarity key to avoiding a European tragedy
Monday 22 June 2015. Krinein is a Greek word which means 'to sift or to separate'. It gives rise to the word 'crisis'. Greece has always been at the heart of the European continent. Culturally, linguistically and philosophically ancient Greek civilisation has helped shape who we are as Europeans...
Cutting back &going without – deprivation and the recession
The scale of Ireland’s recent recession was such that its impact was unavoidable for almost all of society. Whether through job losses, pay reductions, welfare reductions, cuts to services or new taxes and charges, its impact touched almost every household. Income (disposable), just one measure...
Monday Blog: Wages on the rise after 7 years of stagnation.
As data filter through every three months from the Central Statistics Office it is clear that wages are recovering slowly across most sectors of the economy. The adjustment of the labour market over a period of 7 to 8 years since the crash of 2008 is, and will be, the subject of research – did wages...
Monday Blog: From correction to prevention
Employment has increased significantly, in the Republic of Ireland, since 2012. This is very welcome. While the details and scale of the increase has been open to statistical interpretation it is clear that a recovery in output in most sectors of the economy has spilled over into job creation (See...
Employment, wages and economic recovery in the Republic of Ireland
The headline figure in the Quarterly National Household Survey is a 2.2 per cent increase in employment in the year to the first quarter of 2015. Other notable figures include: i. A 26.9 per cent annual decline in part-time underemployment—indicating that people in part-time jobs looking for extra...
Monday Blog: Inequality and Budget 2016
After an interlude the idea of economic inequality is back on the agenda. A combination of events, observable trends and, more recently, the published works of economists such as Thomas Piketty, Tony Atkinson and Richard Wilkinson have helped put the spotlight on the question of social inequality...
The Male Female income gap
There are many measures examining differences in various socio-economic characteristics among men and women. In general, women are better educated, healthier, live longer but earn less – factors which in themselves point towards gaps in societal equality for both sexes. Focusing just on income, it...