Earnings supplied most of hospitality’s annual hourly labour-cost rise in Q2 2026

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Earnings supplied most of the annual hourly increase

Average hourly total labour costs in accommodation and food service rose from €19.50 in Q2 2025 to a preliminary €20.27 in Q2 2026. The published annual increase was €0.77, or 3.9%. Average hourly earnings increased by €0.57, from €17.51 to €18.08, while average hourly other labour costs increased by €0.20, from €1.99 to €2.19. The displayed component increases reconcile to the displayed €0.77 total increase. ^S1

Earnings supplied the larger euro amount, while other labour costs had the faster growth rate. The CSO reports annual growth of 10.1% for other labour costs and 3.3% for earnings. Calculations from the displayed component values give 10.05% for other costs and 3.95% for total costs; the full latter result, 3.9487%, rounds directly to the published 3.9% at one decimal. ^S1

Using the displayed annual changes, other labour costs represented approximately 26% of hospitality’s €0.77 increase. Put as a high-level cost test, about 26 cent of each additional euro per paid hour came from the other-cost component and the balance from earnings. This is a decomposition of rounded sector averages, not an estimate for an individual enterprise. ^S1

Average hourly earnings comprise regular, irregular and overtime earnings divided by total paid hours. Other labour costs are also divided by total paid hours and include employer social-security contributions, redundancy payments, other social costs, benefits in kind and other labour costs, after deducting subsidies and refunds. ^S3

Other costs formed a larger share of the covered-sector cost level

Across all EHECS-covered sectors, average hourly total labour costs increased by a published €1.47, from €36.26 in Q2 2025 to €37.73 in Q2 2026, or 4.1%. Hourly earnings increased by €1.17 to €31.96, while other hourly labour costs increased by €0.31 to €5.77. The respective published growth rates were 3.8% and 5.7%. ^S1

Other costs were a larger part of the Q2 2026 cost level across covered sectors than in hospitality: approximately 15.3% of total hourly labour costs, compared with 10.8%. But they represented a smaller proportion of the displayed annual increase—approximately 21% across covered sectors versus 26% in hospitality. The level share and the contribution to an annual change are different comparisons. ^S1

The all-sectors annual component increases sum to €1.48 rather than the published €1.47 total increase. The displayed Q2 2025 component levels likewise sum to €36.25 rather than €36.26. These one-cent differences reflect the use of rounded displayed values, so the calculated shares are approximate rather than exact accounting allocations. ^S1

The all-sectors benchmark is not literally the whole economy. EHECS excludes agriculture, forestry and fishing; household-employer activities; and extraterritorial organisations and bodies. The comparison is therefore between accommodation and food service and the sectors covered by the survey in the Republic of Ireland. ^S3

The component mix shifted modestly from the Q2 2023 benchmark

In Q2 2023, accommodation and food service recorded €15.93 in hourly earnings, €1.69 in other hourly labour costs and a published total of €17.62. Other costs were therefore approximately 9.6% of the displayed total, compared with approximately 10.8% in Q2 2026. Earnings remained the dominant component, but the smaller other-cost component occupied a somewhat larger share at the later benchmark. ^S1

Across covered sectors, Q2 2023 earnings were €28.19, other costs were €4.74 and the published total was €32.94. The approximate other-cost share rose from 14.4% in Q2 2023 to 15.3% in Q2 2026. The monetary observations are nominal euro-per-paid-hour averages and are not adjusted for inflation. ^S1

These historical values are presented within the CSO’s published NACE Rev. 2.1 series, which the associated data page identifies as covering 2018Q1 to 2026Q2. Separately, the release states that it uses NACE Rev. 2.1 from Q1 2026 onward. Users linking the results to external series classified under NACE Rev. 2.0 should therefore check classification compatibility. ^{S1, S2}

Implications and limits for operator planning

The results support maintaining separate planning assumptions for earnings and other labour costs. Applying a single earnings-growth assumption to the entire labour-cost base would overlook a component that grew at a different rate and supplied approximately 26% of the displayed hospitality increase. This is a planning interpretation of sector averages, not a forecast or evidence that every operator experienced the same movement. ^{S1, S3}

The 10.1% increase in hospitality’s other-cost component cannot be attributed from these data to employer social insurance, redundancy costs or a particular policy change. One reported subcomponent, benefits in kind, fell from €0.04 to €0.02 per paid hour between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026. It therefore did not account for the increase in the broader displayed category, but the release does not provide enough evidence here to allocate the remaining movement among its other elements. ^{S1, S3}

The benchmark is suitable for high-level cost testing rather than workforce diagnosis. EHECS reports enterprise-sector averages, and changes in employee composition can affect average earnings and paid hours. The figures do not establish recruitment needs, retention outcomes or changes experienced by otherwise comparable individual workers. ^S3

Q2 2026 is preliminary. Accommodation and food service had a 37.8% employer response rate based on 318 responding enterprises and a 41.4% employee response rate. The CSO advises greater caution for sectors with lower response rates because estimates may be revised as response increases. The release was published on 25 August 2026, distinct from its Q2 2026 reference period. ^S1

Methodology

This report uses the unadjusted EHECS values published for Q2 2023, Q2 2025 and preliminary Q2 2026. It compares average hourly earnings, average hourly other labour costs and average hourly total labour costs, all calculated per total paid hour. Total hourly labour cost equals hourly earnings plus hourly other labour costs in the unadjusted series used here; independently seasonally adjusted components are not analysed. Percentage changes and component shares were calculated from displayed rounded inputs, so published CSO growth rates are used where available and derived shares are labelled approximate. EHECS represents enterprises with at least three employees in covered sectors: all enterprises with at least 50 employees are surveyed, while enterprises with 3–49 employees are sampled and weighted to their population.

Limitations

• Q2 2026 estimates are preliminary and may be revised; accommodation and food service had a 37.8% employer response rate and a 41.4% employee response rate.
• Values are nominal enterprise-sector averages per paid hour, not inflation-adjusted measures, volume measures, individual wage rates or business-specific costs.
• Derived shares use displayed values rounded to cents. All-sectors components do not reconcile exactly with the displayed total, so those shares are approximate.
• Other labour costs are a broad net category. Benefits in kind are separately reported, but the evidence does not allocate the remaining increase among the category’s other elements.
• The all-sectors comparator covers EHECS sectors but excludes NACE A, U and V.
• The results apply to Republic of Ireland enterprises with at least three employees within the stated survey coverage, not all-island hospitality or enterprises with fewer than three employees.
• Aggregate movements may reflect changes in workforce or job composition and do not establish recruitment, retention or worker-level outcomes.
• The historical observations are presented in the published NACE Rev. 2.1 series; compatibility should be checked before linking them to external NACE Rev. 2.0 series.

Reproduce the calculations

Derived from published rounded inputs; not a new survey estimate.

Media summary

Preliminary CSO data show that earnings supplied €0.57 of the €0.77 annual increase in Republic of Ireland accommodation and food service hourly labour costs in Q2 2026, while other labour costs supplied €0.20. Other costs grew faster—10.1% versus 3.3% for earnings—and represented approximately 26% of hospitality’s displayed increase, compared with approximately 21% across all EHECS-covered sectors. The figures are nominal enterprise averages per paid hour, and the preliminary hospitality estimate may be revised.