Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2020: Synthetic Data Pilot is a synthetic version of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) study available via Trusted Research Environments (TREs).

ASHE is one of the most extensive 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. ASHE is available for research projects demonstrating public good to accredited or approved researchers via TREs such as the Office for National Statistics Secure Research Service (SRS) or the UK Data Service Secure Lab (at SN 6689). To access collections stored within TREs, researchers need to undergo an accreditation process.

Gaining access to data in a secure environment can be time and resource intensive. This pilot has created a low fidelity, low disclosure risk synthetic version of ASHE data, which can be made available to researchers more quickly while they wait for access to the real data.

The synthetic data were created using the Synthpop package in R. The sample method was used; this takes a simple random sample with replacement from the real values. The project was carried out in the period between 19th December 2022 and 3rd January 2023. Further information is available within the documentation.

User feedback received through this pilot will help the ONS to maximise benefits of data access and further explore the feasibility of synthesising more data in future.

Main Topics:

The ASHE synthetic data contain the same variables as ASHE 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 ASHE 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). Various geography variables are included in the data files. The year variable in this synthetic dataset is 2020.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked, weekly, hourly and annual earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by region and four-digit Standard Occupational Classification.

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (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.

While limited in terms of personal characteristics compared to surveys such as the Labour Force Survey, 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 Annual Business Survey (UK Data Archive SN 7451).

The ASHE replaced the New Earnings Survey (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.

The ASHE improves on the NES in the following ways:

• the NES questionnaire allowed too much variation in employer responses, leading to wide variations in the data
• weightings have been introduced to take account of the population size (significant biases were a known problem in NES data)
• 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

Linking to other business studies
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.

Observations from Northern Ireland
The ASHE data held by the UK Data Archive include very few observations from Northern Ireland. Users requiring access to Northern Ireland data are advised to contact the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, who administer this aspect of the survey.

Local unit reference variable, luref
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.

For Secure Lab projects applying for access to this study as well as to SN 6697 Business Structure Database and/or SN 7683 Business Structure Database Longitudinal, only postcode-free versions of the data will be made available.

Latest Edition Information
For the twenty-sixth edition (February 2025), the data file 'ashegb_2023r_2024p_pc' has been added, along with the accompanying data dictionary.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by work-based region to local and unitary authority level.

The annual survey studied employee opinion on the quality of working life in Finland. Main themes included organisation of work, development opportunities and flexibility, learning and training at work, wages, workplace bullying, capacity to work, and changes in working life. Questions in the barometer have mainly remained the same each year. The 2020 collection round included new questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the respondents were asked about the number of people employed at their workplace, changes in the number of staff, distribution of work and tasks, and implementation of new working methods and systems over the past 12 months. Satisfaction in the working environment was charted with questions about openness, encouragement and equality in the workplace, job stability, and opportunities for employees to develop and apply new ideas. Further questions covered measures taken to improve employees' capacity to work, safety of work environment, and skills of employees. Discrimination at work based on ethnic group, age, gender, type of job contract, and health status was explored. Incidents of bullying, harassment and violence at work were surveyed. The next set of questions investigated the respondents' membership in a trade union or professional association, flexible working time arrangements at the workplace, pay and bonus systems, and satisfaction with the pay level. The respondents' participation in job-related training and the contents of the training (e.g. IT, leadership skills, communication skills) were surveyed. The development of the workplace was also investigated. The use of virtual workspaces and social media services such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs as part of work tasks was charted. Autonomy at work was surveyed by asking about influence over own work tasks and working pace, over the distribution of work in the workplace, and about working to a tight schedule. The respondents were asked about work-related calls, emails and messages they had had to attend to outside their official working hours in the past 12 months. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on working conditions was investigated with questions on whether the respondents had worked remotely before the COVID-19 pandemic, whether they had started to work remotely because of the pandemic, whether they now had to do more remote work than before the pandemic, and how satisfied they had been with remote work during the pandemic. One set of questions investigated the employees' perceived workload, capacity to work, estimates of own mental and physical capacity to work, and sickness absences. Additionally, the respondents' experiences of stress, mental exhaustion, and excitement related to work were surveyed. The respondents were asked whether they had been temporarily laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, whether their working hours had been reduced because of the pandemic, and how the pandemic had impacted their workload. The respondents were asked how likely they thought it was that they would be dismissed or temporarily laid off, or that their tasks would change over the next year. Finally, views were probed on the respondents' likelihood of getting an equal job if they became unemployed, on the general employment situation in Finland, possible changes in working life in general, and the employer's financial situation. Background variables included, among others, the respondent's year of birth, age, gender, status in employment, employer type, industry of employment, type of contract, weekly working hours, overtime, and socioeconomic status.

This product presents a timely picture of employment, earnings and hours which is vital for the planning and decision-making purposes of Canada's businesses and governments. The tabulations consist of annual and monthly labour market information and historical data series. The major variables for over 200 industries are provided at the national and provincial/territorial levels. Also included are quarterly and annual estimates by enterprise, size of employment, average weekly earnings and hours, and notes on the concepts and methods of the survey. The data are compiled at detailed industrial levels for Canada, provinces and territories using NAICS 2002 codes.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by region, and public and private sector, and non-profit bodies and mutual associations. Hourly and weekly estimates are provided for the pay period that included a specified date in April. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Estimates for 2020 and 2021 include employees who have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Annual estimates are provided for the tax year that ended on 5th April in the reference year. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay who have been in the same job for more than a year.

Pay level risk faced by different occupations, based on ability to work from home and whether or not they are a key worker, UK, 2020. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by region and two-digit Standard Occupational Classification 2010. Hourly and weekly estimates are provided for the pay period that included a specified date in April. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Estimates for 2020 and 2021 include employees who have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Annual estimates are provided for the tax year that ended on 5th April in the reference year. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay who have been in the same job for more than a year.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, for care workers, home carers and senior care workers as defined in the Standard Occupational Classification. Hourly and weekly estimates are provided for the pay period that included a specified date in April. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Estimates for 2020 and 2021 include employees who have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Annual estimates are provided for the tax year that ended on 5th April in the reference year. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay who have been in the same job for more than a year.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by home and work-based Parliamentary constituency. Hourly and weekly estimates are provided for the pay period that included a specified date in April. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Estimates for 2020 and 2021 include employees who have been furloughed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Annual estimates are provided for the tax year that ended on 5th April in the reference year. They relate to employees on adult rates of pay who have been in the same job for more than a year.