Employee Earnings in Northern Ireland, from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2021, was published today by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency.
The report provides provisional estimates for 2021 and final revised estimates for 2020.
Largest increase in weekly earnings in 20 years
- Median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees in April 2021 increased by 8.8% from £529 in 2020 to £575 in 2021; the largest annual increase in 20 years, following the largest annual decrease between 2019 and 2020.
- UK weekly earnings increased by 4.3% to £611. NI had the largest increase in earnings across the 12 UK regions over the year and has risen from the bottom of the UK earnings distribution to the middle, with weekly earnings now £36 below the UK average.
- Real weekly earnings in NI increased by 7.0% and are now around £50 higher than 2011, while real UK weekly earnings increased over the year to a lesser extent (2.6%).
Recovery in private sector pay after a decrease last year
- Increases in weekly earnings were recorded for both the public and the private sector (7.1% and 10% respectively), and across the pay distribution of employees in both sectors. The percentage difference between NI and UK earnings in the private sector is the smallest in the last 20 years.
Proportion of low-paid jobs in NI is the lowest on record
- Approximately a fifth (19%) of all jobs in NI were ‘low-paid’ (based on OECD measure of low pay). This is the lowest proportion in NI in 20 years but is the highest proportion of the 12 UK regions.
- The proportion of jobs paid below the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW), which was 1.1% in 2019 and increased to 11% in 2020, fell to 5.8% in 2021. Almost 90% of those below the NLW and NMW in the last two years were on furlough rates of pay.
When all employees considered, gender pay gap in favour of males in NI
- The gender pay gap for all employees (regardless of working pattern) in NI is in favour of males. Median hourly earnings (excluding overtime) for females (£12.36) was 5.7% below those for males (£13.11). This is the smallest gender pay gap on record, and lower than the 15.4% gap recorded in the UK.
- When results are considered by working pattern, full-time females earn more than full-time males and part-time females earn more than part-time males. The higher earnings for ‘all’ males is primarily due to a larger proportion of males (84% compared with 58% of females) in full-time work, which has higher hourly rates of pay on average than part-time employment and proportionately fewer low paid jobs.
Annual earnings increase over the year
- Median annual earnings increased by 1.7% for all full-time employees in NI over the year to £29,000, but remained lower than the UK median of £31,000. The highest 10% of earners earned approximately £53,000 and above.
Commentary
- Median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees in NI increased over the year by 8.8%, which was the largest increase of the 12 government regions in 2021. When considered over a two-year period, growth in NI earnings was second to growth in Scotland. Although NI now has the seventh highest median across the 12 regions, it still has the highest proportion of low-paid jobs in the UK.
- Overall, the recovery in weekly earnings was strong over the year, however the growth was not uniform; several industries still have median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees below their 2019 level. Notably, median earnings in the ‘Construction’ and ‘Accommodation & food service’ sectors are still below their 2019 levels, despite the strong growth in 2021.
- Data from the HMRC PAYE Real Time Information system indicate a similar annual increase (10%) in median earnings in NI between April 2020 and April 2021.
Notes to editors:
1. ASHE is a UK wide survey of employers that provides information on hourly, weekly and annual earnings by gender, work pattern, industry and occupation. The sample comprises approximately 1% of all jobs in NI covered by Pay As You Earn (PAYE) schemes. The reference date for the most recent survey was the pay-week (or other pay-period if the employee was paid less frequently) which included 21st April 2021.
2. The survey reference date (21st April) was within the time period for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant. This is the second consecutive year that the survey has included furloughed employees. The CJRS was first introduced to support employers from 1st March 2020 whose businesses were impacted by the pandemic. The first CJRS worked by providing grants to employers of up to 80% of the salary to a maximum value of £2,500 per employee per month, while covering some of the cost of employer pension and National Insurance Contributions. By April 2021, the scheme had changed so that employees could be fully furloughed, or flexi-furloughed, where earnings would be no less than 80%.
3. Final results showed that approximately 11% of all ASHE employee jobs were identified as furloughed and approximately 7% were identified as furloughed with reduced pay (i.e. earnings not topped up by their employer). Users should note that the headline ASHE estimates therefore include those supported under the CJRS. The proportion of employees furloughed and on reduced pay from the survey returns is provided for context. These proportions should not be used as standalone furlough estimates. (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme statistics are available online at the GOV.UK website)
4. Two new interactive outputs have been published this year for the first time. Firstly, a scrollytelling article, which presents the change in the earnings distribution in NI between 2002 and 2021, with particular focus on the impact of furlough over the last two years. Secondly, Employee earnings in 2021 and their change from 2019 offers two new interactive charts which show how earnings have changed since 2019 for different industry and occupation groups.
5. The headline measure of earnings from ASHE is median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees and is referred to as ‘weekly earnings’ for ease of reporting. A range of hourly, weekly and annual measures relating to full and part-time employees are available alongside the main bulletin at Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
6. ASHE data are used by those who have an interest in NI economic and labour market policy. The figures are widely used to chart changes in NI earnings levels over time and relative to the rest of the UK. Government Departments require a variety of indicators, which measure the state of the labour market, including earnings across industries and occupations as well as for the public and private sector.
7. The mean and the median measure different things and either can be appropriate depending on what the user is trying to measure. The mean measures the average amount earned by individuals, but in a skewed distribution such as earnings this measure is susceptible to small numbers of very high earners. The median measures the amount earned by the average individual, i.e. the level of earnings at which half the population are above and half the population are below. A visual explanation of this is available on the NIPSA website. Please note that changes in median values for sub-sectors of the population are not necessarily additive at the population level.
8. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) definitions of low pay and high pay are used. Low pay is defined as the value that is two-thirds of the UK median hourly earnings (e.g. £14.10 x 2/3 = £9.40 in 2021). High pay is defined as the value that is 1.5 times the UK median hourly earnings (e.g. £14.10 x 1.5 = £21.15 in 2021)
9. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at: pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk.
10. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.The Executive Information Service operates an out-of-hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
11. Follow us on twitter @Economy_NI or @NISRA
12. Feedback is welcomed and should be addressed to Responsible statistician: Ashleigh Warwick, Economic & Labour Market Statistics (ELMS) ashleigh.warwick@nisra.gov.uk or Tel: 028 902 55174.