THE GENDER PAY gap in the public sector based on average hourly earnings was 12.1 per cent higher for males than females, compared to 21.1 per cent higher in the private sector in 2010.

The figures come from the CSO National Employment Survey report, which shows the differences in wages between the public and private sectors in Ireland for the years 2009 and 2010.

The survey also shows that, on average, public sector employees had higher educational attainment, longer service, were older, and were more likely to be in professional jobs than their counterparts in the private sector.

The pay gap estimates ranged from 6.1 per cent to 18.9 per cent for NES 2010 and all estimates showed a reduction in the pay gap between 2009 and 2010.

Further analysis based on gender showed that the public sector pay gap ranged from 2.3 per cent to 14.5 per cent for males and for females it ranged from 9.2 per cent to 20.4 per cent in 2010.

Analysis also showed that the public sector pay differential was largest at the lower end of the earnings distribution and generally decreased as earnings increased.

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