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IT among Ireland’s highest paying sectors, says report

21 Jan 2025

Career development, a pension scheme and flexible hours were identified as among the most common benefits for workers.

New research from employment platform IrishJobs has revealed that professionals in Ireland’s IT sector earned the highest average salary in 2024. With a mean salary of €69,050, IT came out on top followed by roles in construction (€63,502), finance (€63,165) and engineering (€59,808). 

IrishJobs’ research is based on an analysis of salaries and benefits given for the most commonly advertised roles across a broad range of sectors on hiring platforms in The Stepstone Group in Ireland, the UK and Germany. When compared to their European counterparts, Ireland ranged positively, with a higher median salary (€46,791) than both the UK (€42,377) and Germany (€45,800).

The report also indicated a number of regional differences when it comes to salary averages in Ireland. Dublin was revealed to be the county with the highest annual average salary at €48,343, which according to the report is a sign of the county’s strength as a hub for skilled professionals and enterprise activity. Limerick, with its background in manufacturing, lifesciences, healthcare and technology, also placed highly, with a median salary of €46,011.

In addition to salary, the report found that an occupational pension, free parking and remote-working options were the top benefits for professionals in the IT sector. Cycle-to-work schemes, career development opportunities and flexible hours were also identified as common benefits for all employees.

Commenting on the release of the findings, Sam Dooley, the country director of The Stepstone Group Ireland with responsibility for IrishJobs, said: “With unemployment levels forecast to remain low through 2025, employers in Ireland look set to navigate a competitive labour market in the months ahead. 

“Against this backdrop, IrishJobs’ analysis of data on the salaries and benefits of job postings in 2024 provides an insight into how employers are adapting their talent offering as they seek to attract and retain high-calibre talent.

“Our findings showed that professionals in the IT sector were among the most highly paid in Ireland last year. Despite a fall in job vacancy generation in the sector in 2024, the levels of compensation in the sector indicate that highly skilled IT professionals remain in strong demand.”

Enterprise Ireland recently unveiled its end-of-year report which highlighted jobs growth outside Dublin and the potential for companies looking to grow and scale in Ireland’s other regions. 

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Laura Varley
By Laura Varley

Laura Varley is a Careers reporter at Silicon Republic. She has a background in technology PR and journalism and is borderline obsessed with film and television, the theatre, Marvel and Mayo GAA. She is currently trying to learn how to knit.

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