AVERAGE earnings for full-time employees in Northern Ireland has increased to £495 a week.
The figure, from April 2016, represents a 2.2 per cent rise in a year.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the increase was in line with the UK as a whole where median gross weekly earnings are now £539.
It is the second consecutive annual increase in earnings in the north that has exceeded inflation.
Economy minister Simon Hamilton welcomed the itures.
"Ensuring that work pays is clearly very important for inclusive growth and so I am very pleased that the growth in earnings in the private sector was concentrated in lower pay occupations," he said.
"For example those in the lowest 10 per cent of the private sector full-time weekly earnings distribution experienced a much larger increase (5.8 per cent) than those in the highest 10 per cent (1.2 per cent).
"My vision is to transform Northern Ireland into a globally competitive economy. I want that economy to be a better economy for everyone in Northern Ireland."
The education sector reported the highest weekly earnings at £711 per week.
At the other end of the scale, the accommodation and food service activities sector had average pay of £300.
Unlike the UK as a whole, women earn more than men on average in the north.
Female earnings are 103.2 per cent of male earnings in Northern Ireland, compared with 90.5 per cent in the UK overall.
Full-time pay for women equalled that of men in 2010 before overtaking it in 2013.
The high earnings are largely driven by the public sector.
