Written Question · S2W-29902 · Session 2
What the average wage is in Scotland and how many households have (a) one working adult, (b) two working adults, (c) three working adults a…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the average wage is in Scotland and how many households have (a) one working adult, (b) two working adults, (c) three working adults and (d) more than three working adults, also expressed as a percentage of all households with working adults and indicating how many of those working adults earn more than the average wage.
The answer
The preferred source for earningsestimates is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is carried outby the Office for National Statistics.
The median gross weekly pay forfull-time employees, excluding overtime, in Scotland in 2006 was £403.60. Themedian is the recommended measure of average earnings as opposed to the mean.
The following table shows thenumber of households with one, two, three or more than three working adults. Thenumber of households are also expressed as a proportion of total households withat least one working adults.
By definition the proportionof adults earning over the median wage is 50%. Therefore the best estimate for thenumber of people earning over the median wage is 1,169,000.
Table 1 Number of Householdsby Number of People in Employment
Number of People in Employment
| Number of Households
| Percentage of Households
1 Adult
| 695,000
| 48.5%
2 Adult
| 600,000
| 41.9%
3 Adult
| 106,000
| 7.4%
More than 3
| 30,000
| 2.1%
Source: Annual Population Survey2005.
Note: 1. Data are rounded tothe nearest thousand.
The median gross weekly pay forfull-time employees, excluding overtime, in Scotland in 2006 was £403.60. Themedian is the recommended measure of average earnings as opposed to the mean.
The following table shows thenumber of households with one, two, three or more than three working adults. Thenumber of households are also expressed as a proportion of total households withat least one working adults.
By definition the proportionof adults earning over the median wage is 50%. Therefore the best estimate for thenumber of people earning over the median wage is 1,169,000.
Table 1 Number of Householdsby Number of People in Employment
Number of People in Employment
| Number of Households
| Percentage of Households
1 Adult
| 695,000
| 48.5%
2 Adult
| 600,000
| 41.9%
3 Adult
| 106,000
| 7.4%
More than 3
| 30,000
| 2.1%
Source: Annual Population Survey2005.
Note: 1. Data are rounded tothe nearest thousand.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S2W-29902 by reference.