Irish people earn more but housing and cost of living continue to climb, new figures show
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Earnings rose and so did employment, but the cost of living and housing climbed too, according to a new snapshot of Irish life in 2024.
On Friday, the Central Statistics Office published its 'Year in Numbers' for the last 12 months to break down key statistics it had collated over the course of last year.
A Snapshot of 2024 told through CSO Datahttps://t.co/t40R23BSLD#CSOireland #Ireland #EurStatsDay #StatisticalYearbook #Statistics #YearInNumbers #Health #Environment #WorldStatisticsDay pic.twitter.com/uqanTndpQw
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) January 3, 2025
Looking at the cost of living, the CSO said Ireland’s official measure of inflation — the Consumer Price Index — dropped steadily over the course of 2024, from a high of 4.1% in January to a low of 0.7% in September and October.
This is significantly lower than the October 2022 inflation peak of 9.2%
Rent and mortgage interest contributed to the increased cost-of-living, rising 4.5% and 3.8% over the year. Other contributory factors were the cost of eating out, which rose 5%, while the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose almost 2%.
The CSO said: “Looking at the national average prices of some staple items, as of November 2024, the price of a 2.5kg bag of potatoes was up by 18c, while dairy prices also increased, with the price of two litres of full fat milk (+13c), a kilogramme of cheese (+23c), and a pound of butter (+58c), all up on November 2023 prices.”
One potential worry on the horizon for households is the changes in wholesale prices for electricity. In November 2024, wholesale electricity prices were 18.9% higher than the same month in 2023.
In terms of how we spent our money, the CSO’s most recent Household Budget Survey published last year suggests households in Ireland spent an average of €1,007.47, with a quarter of this being spent on housing and energy bills.
On the other hand, households saved about €1 for every €6 they spent day-to-day in 2024.
Turning to housing, the CSO said residential property prices rose 9.7% in the 12 months to October, putting the median house price in Ireland at €350,000.
In terms of new homes built, there were less encouraging signs, as in the first three quarters of 2024, there were 21,634 new homes built. This was a fall of 3.1% on the same period in 2023, and does not support the Government’s assertions that 40,000 homes would be built in 2024.
Full-year figures for home building are expected in the first quarter of this year.
As of the third quarter of 2024, average weekly earnings in Ireland were €955.49. This was up almost €280 on the same period a decade earlier.
The employment rate for people aged 15-64 years hit its highest rate of 75.3% in the third quarter of 2024, the highest point since the current series began 26 years ago.
Separately, it was announced last year that Jack was the most popular name for boys born in Ireland for the seventh year in a row while Grace claimed top spot for girls.