Laois men are paid a lot more money than Laois women in work

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Laois earnings below the average nationally but high comparitively

Laois men earn a quarter more than women in the county each week, according to the latest official figures.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures also reveal a rise in earnings for both genders but both men and women are on incomes which are below the national average.

The new Earnings Analysis survey covering 2023 shows that Laois men were taking home a median wage of €767.78 each week. This contrasts with their female equivalents who earned €605.62 weekly. That's a difference of some 25%. The national average is 23.6%.

The CSO figures, which are part of a national analysis, do not reveal a narrowing in the gender pay gap in Laois. It reveals that the median weekly wage earned by men has also risen by a marginally greater amount since 2020 when men earned nearly €700 a week while women were paid almost €560 a month.

The median pay for both sexes at the end of last year in Laois was €688.67. That is an 8% rise on 2021 but a slower 4% rate of increase on 2022.

The Laois median earnings were higher in 2023 and were among the highest in the country. People here were earning more than many of their counterparts in other Leinster counties excluding Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath.

However, the CSO reports that the Laois weekly earnings are below the nearly €700 early total when averaged including figures from all 26 counties.

The CSO found that median weekly earnings were highest in Dublin at €793.71 in 2023, a 4.8% increase from €757.03 in 2022. Weekly earnings in Dublin were 13.5% higher than the State (€699.28), and 40.0% higher than Donegal which, at €567.04, had the lowest median weekly earnings of all counties.

The highest median weekly earnings for both males and females were recorded in counties Dublin (males: €874.52, females: €709.75), Kildare (males: €865.83, females: €660.92), and Meath (males: €844.96, females: €638.19).

The largest increase in median weekly earnings was recorded in Longford, where earnings rose by 5.4% from €602.02 in 2022 to €634.62 in 2023. There was also a notable annual increase in median weekly earnings in counties Wexford (5.3%) and Donegal (5.0%). Increases in median weekly earnings were less pronounced in Carlow and Leitrim, where weekly earnings rose by 3.5% and 2.9%, respectively.

The CSO figures are based on the region of residence of the employees not their place of work.