What the latest estimate is of the number of people earning the national minimum wage or below in the (a) Orkney Islands, (b) Shetland Isla…

The preferred source for earningsestimates is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is carried outby the Office for National Statistics.
The following table shows theestimated number of employees earning the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or below inthe Orkney and Shetland Islands; Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Ross, Skye and InvernessWest; Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber; Argyll and Bute; WesternIsles, and Moray parliamentary constituencies in 2006 (latest data).
It is not possible to provideindividual estimates for the Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands using ASHE data.
Table 1: Number of people earningthe minimum wage or below in selected parliamentary constituencies, 2006

| 2006

Orkney and Shetland Islands
| 400

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
| 1,800

Ross, Skye and Inverness West
| 2,500

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
| 2,900

Argyll and Bute
| 1,100

Western Isles
| 800

Moray
| 2,200

Source: Annual Survey of Hoursand Earnings, Office for National Statistics.
Notes:
1. The estimates are based onthe hourly pay excluding overtime and shift premium payments.
2. The estimates are based on a samplesurvey, and as such, are subject to sampling error.
3. The estimates are based onplace of residence.
4. Parliamentary constituenciesbased on 2005 revision.