Average hourly earnings were €21.80 per hour in Q2 2011 and displayed no real change as compared with one year earlier when an average of €21.81 had been recorded. This compares with a revised estimated decrease of 0.3% in the year to Q1 2011 and a decrease of 1.0% in the year to Q2 2010. Average hourly earnings in the Irish private sector fell from €19.43 per hour in Q2 2010 to €19.33 per hour in Q2 2011 (-0.5%). In contrast public sector average hourly earnings increased by 0.6% from €28.72 to €28.90 per hour for the same quarters. Over a two year period average hourly earnings in the public sector fell by 3.9% compared with a marginal increase of 0.1% in the private sector.