Hospitality jobs and pay in Ireland 2026: CSO figures, quarter by quarter

In the second quarter of 2026 the Central Statistics Office (CSO) puts average hourly earnings in Irish accommodation and food service at €18.08, and average weekly earnings at €506.78. The CSO sector is "Accommodation and food service activities (I)", and these tables give one combined figure for it, not a café-only figure. The CSO marks the latest quarter of the earnings table as "preliminary and subject to revision." These tables do not give a café-only figure, so none of this is a café wage. The Labour Force Survey counts 188.5 thousand people in work in the sector that quarter. Pay rose 3.3% on the hourly figure and 7.7% on the weekly figure in a year (percentages are ours).

What is the average wage in Irish hospitality in 2026?

The CSO's Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey puts it at €18.08 an hour and €506.78 a week for all employees in the second quarter of 2026. Both are not seasonally adjusted.

The sector in the CSO table is "Accommodation and food service activities (I)". The tables give no café-only figure. The CSO does not publish a café-only figure in these tables, so a café's own pay may be higher or lower. I use "hospitality" below as shorthand for that CSO sector.

Weekly pay is lower partly because of fewer paid hours. The CSO table gives the hours, not the reason, so that is my reading. The hours are in the comparison section below.

How many people work in hospitality in Ireland?

The CSO's Labour Force Survey counts 188.5 thousand people aged 15 to 89 in employment in the sector in the second quarter of 2026, both sexes, not seasonally adjusted. A year earlier, in the second quarter of 2025, it was 181 thousand.

The number swings with the season. In the quarters from 2023 Q1 to 2026 Q2 in the table below, the highest is 200 thousand in 2024 Q3 and the lowest is 169.9 thousand in 2026 Q1. Compare a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier, not with the one before it.

The earnings survey gives a different number for the same quarter: 195,100 employees in the sector in 2026 Q2. They are two different CSO surveys, measured differently.

How fast is hospitality pay rising?

Average hourly earnings rose from €17.51 in the second quarter of 2025 to €18.08 in the second quarter of 2026, a rise of 3.3%. Average weekly earnings rose from €470.59 to €506.78, a rise of 7.7%. Percentages are ours, worked out from the CSO figures.

Over three years, from the second quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2026, the hourly figure went from €15.93 to €18.08, up 13.5%. The weekly figure went from €432.25 to €506.78, up 17.2%.

I compare second quarters with second quarters on purpose. The figures are not seasonally adjusted, and a single quarter can jump for reasons the table does not explain.

How does hospitality pay compare with the average across all sectors?

It is lower on every measure in the table. In the second quarter of 2026 the CSO gives €1,046.88 a week and €31.96 an hour for all economic sectors, against €506.78 and €18.08 in accommodation and food service.

By our arithmetic the sector's weekly figure is about 48% of the all-sector one, and its hourly figure about 57%. The gap is wider in weekly pay than in hourly pay, and I read that as partly down to hours. The CSO gives average weekly paid hours of 28 in the sector against 32.8 across all sectors. For a rota, the wage floor is a separate matter: see our page on the minimum wage in 2026.

What does an hour of staff cost an employer in hospitality?

The CSO puts average hourly total labour costs in the sector at €20.27 in the second quarter of 2026. Of that, average hourly other labour costs are €2.19. Adding the CSO's €18.08 hourly earnings to the €2.19 gives €20.27, which is our own addition.

It is an average across the whole sector, and the table gives no breakdown of the other labour costs. Treat it as a guide, not a quote for your own payroll.

Where do these numbers come from, and how often are they updated?

They come from two CSO tables, both published quarterly. QLF03, the Labour Force Survey table of persons aged 15 to 89 in employment, was last updated on 20 August 2026. EHQ03, Average Earnings, Hours Worked, Employment and Labour Costs from the Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey, was last updated on 25 August 2026. Both run to the second quarter of 2026. New figures will come from the CSO.

I read both on 16 October 2026 and pulled the figures for all 14 quarters from 2023 Q1 to 2026 Q2. The table below has them. You can download them as a CSV. If you cite it: Cupán Studio, from CSO tables QLF03 and EHQ03, read 16 October 2026.

Accommodation and food service activities, Ireland, not seasonally adjusted. Employment in thousands (persons in employment); earnings are for all employees.

Quarter	People in work (thousand)	Average weekly earnings	Average hourly earnings
2023 Q1	173	€424.93	€15.78
2023 Q2	178.2	€432.25	€15.93
2023 Q3	183.1	€428.39	€15.88
2023 Q4	183.1	€438.66	€16.20
2024 Q1	174.5	€441.28	€16.97
2024 Q2	184.2	€446.41	€16.96
2024 Q3	200	€447.14	€16.84
2024 Q4	184.4	€448.20	€16.95
2025 Q1	186.2	€448.30	€17.80
2025 Q2	181	€470.59	€17.51
2025 Q3	191.4	€478.26	€17.74
2025 Q4	183.5	€473.63	€18.01
2026 Q1	169.9	€468.23	€18.13
2026 Q2	188.5	€506.78	€18.08

Sources

• Central Statistics Office, QLF03 Persons aged 15-89 years in Employment (Labour Force Survey), updated 20 August 2026, read 16 October 2026.
• Central Statistics Office, EHQ03 Average Earnings, Hours Worked, Employment and Labour Costs (Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey), updated 25 August 2026, read 16 October 2026.

Figures from CSO tables QLF03 and EHQ03, read 16 October 2026; percentages are ours. A summary of published statistics, not payroll advice. Cupán Studio builds websites for cafés in Ireland.