Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
The Monthly Wages and Salaries Survey (MWSS) is the main source of information for three key indicators of Short-Term Earnings generated by the Office for National Statistics: the Average Earnings Index, the Average Weekly Earnings and the Index of Labour Costs per Hour. The MWSS is distributed monthly to approximately 8,800 businesses and covers around 12.8 million employees. Companies are required to respond under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947. Businesses are selected from the Inter-Departmental Business Register. Every company with more than 1,000 employees is surveyed. Sampling is random for businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees. The MWSS does not cover businesses with fewer than 20 employees, and so the very smallest businesses in the economy are not represented. The self-employed and government-supported trainees are also not surveyed. The major strength of the MWSS is that it provides comprehensive information on earnings, by industry. In terms of industrial coverage, information on all industries is collected, as defined by the Standard Industrial Classifications (1992). Information on both the public and private sectors is available. Linking to other business studiesThese data contain Inter-Departmental Business Register reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research.Latest edition informationFor the thirty-ninth edition (May 2024), two monthly data files for December 2023 and January 2024 have been added to the study.
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The survey measures commission, bonuses, overtime and pay award arrears, in addition to pay. The survey also collects data on the number of employees on the payroll. The measures are the sums for each company, and are not subdivided by occupation or by individual workers. The survey excludes redundancy payments and benefits in kind.The data files have been processed to include average weekly pay data and all of the processing variables such as grossing factors and grossed values.
One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
Postal survey
