Lowest-Paying Sectors in Ireland
Ranked by median annual salary (ascending) · 2024
This ranking shows which industries currently sit at the lower end of Irish median pay. It is most useful as a benchmark page: you can see the floor of the sector salary range quickly, then click through to compare against higher-paying industries or county-specific sector data.
Key Facts
- Lowest-paying sector: Accommodation and Food Service Activities at €26,000
- Second-lowest sector: Arts, Entertainment, Recreation and Other Service Activities at €28,497
- Highest-paying sector overall: Information and Communication at €80,147
Compare Next
This page is most useful when it leads to the sector detail pages or a direct comparison between the lowest-ranked sectors.
Interactive Ranking
Narrow the table to the strongest rows or scan the full ranking without leaving the page.
13 results currently shown.
| Sector | Median Salary | Next Step | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and Food Service Activities | €26,000 | ||
| Arts, Entertainment, Recreation and Other Service Activities | €28,497 | ||
| Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles | €32,902 | ||
| Administrative and Support Service Activities | €37,125 | ||
| Transportation and Storage | €43,823 | ||
| Human Health and Social Work Activities | €44,622 | ||
| Construction | €44,676 | ||
| Industry (B to E) | €50,000 | ||
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities | €51,750 | ||
| Education | €54,413 | ||
| Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security | €56,745 | ||
| Financial, Insurance and Real Estate Activities | €59,023 | ||
| Information and Communication | €80,147 |
Next Step
Need salary benchmarks with live job-market context?
Salaries.ie shows the public data. If you want current openings, employer demand, and a stronger sense of what roles are actually live in Ireland, use RoleUp alongside the salary pages.
Keep Exploring
Use the bottom of the ranking as a benchmark, then open the underlying sectors or jump to the opposite end of the table for contrast.
Open the lowest-paying sector
Accommodation and Food Service Activities anchors the bottom of the ranking and is the clearest place to inspect the underlying context.
Check the second-lowest sector
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation and Other Service Activities helps show whether the bottom of the ranking is a one-off or a cluster.
See the highest-paying sector
Jump to Information and Communication to measure the full spread between the bottom and top of the Irish sector table.
Run the bottom two head to head
Compare Accommodation and Food Service Activities and Arts, Entertainment, Recreation and Other Service Activities directly instead of reading them as isolated rows.
Flip to the highest-paying sectors
Use the opposite ranking to see where the top of the sector market sits.
Why lower-paying sectors still need context
A lower sector median does not mean every role in that industry is low paid. Some sectors include a large share of part-time, entry-level, or customer-facing work, which pulls down the median even though specialist roles in the same sector may pay significantly more.
Use these rankings to identify the broad picture, then compare specific sectors side by side or open the sector detail pages for a clearer sense of where the pay differences come from.