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Income

Answer

I have been asked to reply.The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 11 June 2008:"The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how much households headed by 25 year-olds earned as a proportion of the earnings of households headed by people aged 50 to 60 years in (a) 1980, (b) 1985, (c) 1990, (d) 1995, (e) 2000, (f) 2005 and (g) 2008. I am replying in her absence. (208790)""The table provided shows average household wages and salaries for two age bands (under 30 years old and 50 to 64 years old). Data covering ages 25 years' old and 50 to 60 years' old are not readily available. In addition the latest year for which data are available is 2006.""From 2001-02, the concept of 'Household Reference Person' (HRP) was adopted on all government surveys in place of head of household. The table is therefore presented by 'Head of household' for the years 1980 to 2000/01 and HRP for the years 2005-06 and 2006.""The information in this response is based on the Expenditure and Food Survey, which has a sample size of approximately 7,000 households. When breaking down this sample into age bands the sub-samples become quite small. For example in 2006, the age group 'under 30 years group' is based on a relatively small sub-sample of around 600 households, while the 650 to 64 years' group is based on 1,700 households. With such small sample sizes caution should be exercised when drawing any conclusions from this time series."

Average household earnings by households headed by age groups under 30 years and 50 to 64 years¹, ², ³— United Kingdom, 1980 to 20064
	Wages and salaries (£ per week)5
	Under 30 years	50 to 64 years	Earnings ratio of under 30 group to 50 to 64 age group
1980	115	128	0.90
1985	153	158	0.97
1990	243	232	1.05
1995-96	260	245	1.06
2000-01	403	353	1.14
2005-06	455	439	1.03
2006	472	485	0.97
¹ The Family Expenditure Survey was replaced by the Expenditure and Food Survey in 2001-02. ² Head of Household was replaced by Household Reference Person (HRP) in 2001-02. The HRP is largely determined by who owns or is responsible for the household accommodation, whereas in the case of a couple, the head of household was always the husband. ³ From 2000-01 estimates in this table are based on weighted data, whereas estimates before this are not. 4 From 1957 to 1993 data were collected on a calendar year basis and then from 1994-95 to 2005-06 on a financial year basis. In 2006 the Expenditure and Food Survey was collected on a calendar year basis. 5 Figures rounded to nearest pound. Source: Family Spending, Office for National Statistics.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

477 c309-10W; 208790

Session

2007-08

Subjects

Personal income

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk