Salary transparency in Ireland varies hugely by occupation, with frontline and operational roles substantially more likely to include pay information than office-based occupations, new data from jobs platform Indeed shows.
A new European Union directive requiring employers to disclose salary ranges in the workplace and toughen rules enforcing gender pay equality comes into effect on June 7th. However, Ireland is set to miss that deadline, with no draft legislation in place.
The data from Indeed shows 39 per cent of Irish job postings included salary information in March, placing Ireland above Italy and Spain but below the UK, the Netherlands and France.
Indeed’s research also found strong support for transparency among Irish workers. In a survey across six European countries, Ireland recorded the highest share of respondents who said they would be more likely to apply for a role if a salary range was included in the posting.
The data from Indeed shows childcare recorded the highest transparency rate among occupational categories at 92 per cent, followed by therapy, driving, construction and education.
At the other end, software development had the lowest transparency rate at 7 per cent, IT had a rate of 8 per cent, just below data and analytics, banking and finance, and civil engineering.
Occupations near the top of the list, such as childcare, food service and driving, are predominantly hourly-paid roles.
Indeed’s European analysis found these types of jobs are “generally more transparent” than annual salaried positions and are also more likely to advertise exact pay figures rather than broad salary bands.
Categories like construction and installation also rank relatively high, which Indeed spokeswoman Sarah Carroll said “may reflect ongoing recruitment demand” in skilled trades and operational occupations.
Meanwhile, there is some variance in healthcare categories, with areas such as therapy showing stronger transparency than some others such as physicians and surgeons.
“This could reflect more individualised and variable compensation structures for certain roles, even within the same sector,” said Carroll.
The middle of the ranking includes sectors such as retail, customer service, sales and management.
“In many of these occupations, compensation may include commissions, bonuses, shift premiums or discretionary elements that are more difficult to summarise in a single advertised figure,” Carroll said.
By contrast, so-called white-collar sectors, including software development, legal, banking and finance show consistently low transparency rates.
“These occupations are more commonly associated with annual salaries, broader negotiation ranges and compensation packages that may include bonuses, equity, pension contributions or other non-salary benefits,” Carroll said.
She added that in roles such as childcare, driving and construction, where there are ongoing labour shortages, pay is “often used as a frontline recruitment tool that’s made visible upfront to attract applicants quickly”.
“In some of these sectors, more standardised and hourly-based pay structures make disclosure easier, and in many cases essential, when employers are trying to fill roles at scale,” she said.
“Being open about pay helps reduce friction in the application process and can be the difference between a candidate clicking apply or moving on.
“By contrast, many white-collar roles remain far more opaque, with compensation shaped by negotiation, bonuses and equity rather than a single published figure. In these cases, what you earn often hinges more on your knowledge of industry norms and your negotiation skills.”