Mr. John McCarthy:

No. To give the Deputy the figures, we know that in the first three quarters of the year, the total level of employment is up by 2.7% relative to the same period last year. People are moving from part-time into full-time employment but in full-time equivalent terms, it is up by about 3.25%. There is nothing similar to what we are seeing in terms of the increase in profitability.

The wage share is affected not just by numbers, that is, increased employment but also by movements in wages per capita. We have seen wages pick up a little bit. Private sector wages in the first three quarters have averaged an increase of about 2% or 2.5% when we control for the number of hours worked. The wage bill is increasing but not at the same rate as the profit share.