Public sector wages rose by 2% last year.

Meanwhile, CSO figures show that private sector pay fell by almost 3% in the same time frame.

The average weekly wage for state employees now stands at €930, down from €948.

While wages in the private sector average €607 per week.

However the data excludes the effect of the public sector pension levy.

Ciaran Walshe is a Senior Statistician with the CSO.

“Private sector sector wages are down close to three percent, while public sector wages are up two percent” he said.

“That excludes the…pension levy and the pay rate changes in the  public sector which will come (in) quarter one 2010 data”.

“On a weekly basis that is the case”.

“What you really see with the private sector – you don’t see an awful lot of change with the public sector, there’s a bot of an increase there yes – but with the private sector you see the hours being cut, the number of people working being cut” he added.