From 1st April 2011, the responsibility for the collection of data and production of official labour market and economic statistics transferred from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), an agency of the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP). This transfer mirrored the position in Great Britain, where most business surveys and labour market data collection and statistical production have been transferred from the departments with policy responsibilities to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, it is important to note that there are no planned changes to the production of economic and labour market statistical publications and outputs as a result of the transfer.
The Northern Ireland Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is a UK wide survey that provides information on hourly, weekly and annual earnings by gender, work patterns, industry and occupation, including public versus private sector pay comparisons.
ASHE replaced the New Earnings Survey (NES) in 2004 and collects information supplementary to that in NES, therefore ASHE results from 2004 onwards cannot be compared directly to data from previous years. ASHE results from 2006 onwards are also discontinuous with earlier results, due to a small number of methodological changes having been introduced into the sample design, to improve the quality of the results. From 2012, the Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC2000) used for ASHE has been replaced by the Standard Occupational Classification 2010 (SOC2010). Since the SOC forms part of the methodology by which ASHE data are weighted to produce estimates for NI, this has caused a further discontinuity in the ASHE time series. Therefore all provisional estimates for 2012 and revised estimates for 2011 are not directly comparable to earlier results.
Provisional results from the Northern Ireland ASHE 2012 (published 22nd November 2012) are presented in the following Bulletin.
NI ASHE 2012 Statistics Bulletin (Adobe PDF, 251KB)
Please note that a correction has been made to this document. This bulletin was first published at 9.30am on 22nd November 2012, but an error was subsequently identified in Table 14 (Page 13) whereby estimates for ‘all employees’ were used instead of estimates for ‘full-time employees’ due to human error. This error has now been corrected and the revised bulletin was reissued at 6pm on Thursday 22nd November 2012.
NISRA seeks to minimise the need for corrections in its statistical publications. However, where material errors are detected, it undertakes to issue corrections promptly, to alert key stakeholders and to provide an explanation.
NI ASHE 2012 Statistical Press Release (Adobe PDF, 40KB)
Guidance for completing ASHE Questionnaire (Adobe PDF, 47KB) |
Move to Standard Occupational Classification 2010 (SOC2010)
An impact analysis for the Northern Ireland Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings of the move from the Standard Occupational Classification 2000 (SOC2000) to the SOC2010 can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
NI ASHE SOC2010 Impact Analysis (Adobe PDF, 56KB)
NI ASHE Pension Tables (see section 4 below)
A summary of the NI ASHE 2011 pension results (SOC2000 basis, provisional) can be accessed via the link below:
NI ASHE 2011 Pensions Analysis (Adobe PDF, 33KB)
The tables listed below link to Excel files containing a range of NI ASHE data.
1. ASHE Headline Statistics for Northern Ireland (1997-2012)
| Table Name | Description | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Table 1.1 | ASHE 2012 (SOC2010 basis, provisional) | 62KB |
| Table 1.2 | ASHE 2012 Coefficients of Variation, provisional | 62KB |
| Table 1.3 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2010 basis, revised) | 64KB |
| Table 1.4 | ASHE 2011 Coefficients of Variation, revised | 62KB |
| Table 1.5 | ASHE 2010 (SOC2000 basis) | 54KB |
| Table 1.6 | ASHE 2009 | 52KB |
| Table 1.7 | ASHE 2008 | 165KB |
| Table 1.8 | ASHE 2007 | 165KB |
| Table 1.9 | ASHE 2006 (consistent with 2007 methodology) | 176KB |
| Table 1.10 | ASHE 2006 (consistent with 2005 methodology) | 168KB |
| Table 1.11 | ASHE 2005 | 52KB |
| Table 1.12 | ASHE 2004 (including supplementary information) | 52KB |
| Table 1.13 | ASHE 2004 (excluding supplementary information) | 51KB |
| Table 1.14 | ASHE 2003 | 163KB |
| Table 1.15 | ASHE 2002 | 78KB |
| Table 1.16 | ASHE 2001 | 72KB |
| Table 1.17 | ASHE 2000 | 48KB |
| Table 1.18 | ASHE 1999 | 72KB |
| Table 1.19 | ASHE 1998 | 68KB |
| Table 1.20 | ASHE 1997 | 42KB |
2. ASHE for Northern Ireland by Industry, Occupation, Age, Public/Private Sector and Skill Level, 2012 (provisional) and 2011 (revised)
| Table Name | Description | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Table 2.1 | ASHE 2012 (SOC2010 basis, provisional) by Industry (SIC2007) | 2.14MB |
| Table 2.2 | ASHE 2012 (SOC2010 basis, provisional) by Occupation (2-digit SOC2010) | 793KB |
| Table 2.3 | ASHE 2012 (SOC2010 basis, provisional) by Occupation (4-digit SOC2010) | 8.11MB |
| Table 2.4 | ASHE 2012 (SOC2010 basis, provisional) by Age | 187KB |
| Table 2.5 | ASHE 2012 (SOC2010 basis, provisional) by Public/Private Sector | 105KB |
| Table 2.6 | ASHE 2012 (SOC2010 basis, provisional) by Skill Level | 145KB |
| Table 2.7 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2010 basis, revised) by Industry (SIC2007) | 2.18MB |
| Table 2.8 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2010 basis, revised) by Occupation (2-digit SOC2010) | 819KB |
| Table 2.9 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2010 basis, revised) by Occupation (4-digit SOC2010) | 8.21MB |
| Table 2.10 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2010 basis, revised) by Age | 198KB |
| Table 2.11 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2010 basis, revised) by Public/Private Sector | 109KB |
| Table 2.12 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2010 basis, revised) by Skill Level | 154KB |
3. ASHE by Northern Ireland Geographies, by Place of Work and Place of Residence, 2012 (provisional) and 2011 (revised)
4. ASHE for Northern Ireland by Pension Type, by Industry, Occupation and Age, 2011 (SOC2000 basis, provisional)
| Table Name | Description | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Table 4.1 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2000 basis, provisional) by Pension Type by Industry (SIC2007) | 87KB |
| Table 4.2 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2000 basis, provisional) by Pension Type by Occupation (2-digit SOC2000) | 411KB |
| Table 4.3 | ASHE 2011 (SOC2000 basis, provisional) by Pension Type by Age | 103KB |
ASHE Definitions
National Statistics
Following assessment by the UK Statistics Authority, the Northern Ireland ASHE statistics were designated as National Statistics on 14th January 2013. The assessment report can be accessed via the following link:
Assessment of Annual Statistics on Hours and Earnings in Northern Ireland (Adobe PDF, 113KB)
Usage of NI ASHE Data
A summary of usage of the Northern Ireland Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
Summary of NI ASHE Usage (Adobe PDF, 20KB)
ASHE Methodology
A summary of the methods adopted throughout the lifecycle of ASHE, including explanations of why particular choices were made, can be accessed via the link below:
ASHE Quality Report
An information paper, issued by the Office for National Statistics, outlining the quality and reliability of ASHE statistics can be accessed via the link below:
ONS Summary Quality Report for ASHE (Adobe PDF, 189KB)
Other Northern Ireland Earnings Statistics
Please find below links to the Family Resources Survey and the Survey of Personal Income. These surveys contain earnings information for employees not included in ASHE, and have been included here to give a more complete picture of earnings in the Northern Ireland labour market.
DSD NI Family Resources Survey
HMRC Survey of Personal Incomes
Confidentiality Statement
The Economic and Labour Market Statistics Branch confidentiality statement can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
Data Confidentiality Statement (Adobe PDF, 25KB)
Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings results can be mapped for Northern Ireland on the Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service (NINIS) website. NINIS provides free access to statistical and locational information relating to small areas across Northern Ireland. Information is available across a range of themes including Population, Social and Welfare, Agriculture, Education and Crime. Users will be able to obtain an area profile based on a postcode or by selecting an area to view. NINIS can be accessed at:
Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service
Archive Data
Archived NI Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publications can be accessed by clicking on the link below:
Archive data for ASHE
