Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 1997-2015: Secure Access

<p>Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.</p>The <i>Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings</i> (ASHE) is one of the largest surveys of the earnings of individuals in the UK. Data on the wages, paid hours of work, and pensions arrangements of nearly one per cent of the working population are collected. Other variables relating to age, occupation and industrial classification are also available. The ASHE sample is drawn from National Insurance records for working individuals, and the survey forms are sent to their respective employers to complete.<br> <br> While limited in terms of personal characteristics compared to surveys such as the <i>Labour Force Survey</i>, the ASHE is useful not only because of its larger sample size, but also the responses regarding wages and hours are considered to be more accurate, since the responses are provided by employers rather than from employees themselves. A further advantage of the ASHE is that data for the same individuals are collected year after year. It is therefore possible to construct a panel dataset of responses for each individual running back as far as 1997, and to track how occupations, earnings and working hours change for individuals over time. Furthermore, using the unique business identifiers, it is possible to combine ASHE data with data from other business surveys, such as the <i>Annual Business Survey</i> (UK Data Archive SN 7451).<br> <br> The ASHE replaced the <i>New Earnings Survey</i> (NES, SN 6704) in 2004. NES was developed in the 1970s in response to the policy needs of the time. The survey had changed very little in its thirty-year history. ASHE datasets for the years 1997-2003 were derived using ASHE methodologies applied to NES data.<br> <br> The ASHE improves on the NES in the following ways:<ul><li>the NES questionnaire allowed too much variation in employer responses, leading to wide variations in the data</li><li>weightings have been introduced to take account of the population size (significant biases were a known problem in NES data)</li><li>the significant numbers of employees who change jobs between the sample selection and survey reference dates are retained in the ASHE sample, whereas these were dropped from the NES</li></ul><i>Linking to other business studies</i><br> These data contain Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) 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.<br> <br> <i>Local unit reference variable, luref</i><br> The local unit reference variable 'luref', is generated to indicate multiple occurrences of the same local unit for disclosure checking purposes. It is inconsistent across years and is not an IDBR reference number. It should not be used to link ASHE with other business datasets.<br> <br> For the eighth edition (June 2016), all documentation has been enhanced and annual data from 1997 to 2015 has been added. The panel data files have also been updated.<br> <br><B>Main Topics</B>:<br>The ASHE contains a small number of variables for each individual, relating to wages, hours of work, pension arrangements, and occupation and industrial classifications. There are also variables for age, gender and full/part-time status. Because the data are collected by the employer, there are also variables relating to the organisation employing the individual. These include employment size and legal status (e.g. public company).