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- 1. Navigate to Main facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toSources of income by ethnicity section
- 3. Navigate toEmployment income by ethnicity over time section
- 4. Navigate toPension income by ethnicity over time section
- 5. Navigate toBenefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time section
- 6. Navigate to Methodology section
- 7. Navigate to Data sources section
- 8. Navigate to Download the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- on average, income from employment – earnings, salaries and self-employment – made up just under three-quarters of UK households’ total income (before tax and National Insurance was deducted) in the 3-year period 2014/15 to 2016/17
- households in the Indian and Other White ethnic groups received the highest percentage of income from employment
- households in the Pakistani ethnic group had the largest percentage point increase in share of income from wages, salaries or self-employment over the whole time period studied
- the share of income from pensions received by White British households was more than three times higher than that of any other ethnic group in the 3 years 2014/15 to 2016/17
Things you need to know
Because of variations in the data from year to year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) takes 3 years’ worth of data and works out the average for that period. It does that every year, so each year there’s a new 3-year average. For example, the published data for the period from 2014/15 to 2016/17 is an average of the data for 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17.
While this type of survey methodology increases the reliability of the data, it means that tests for significant differences between ethnic groups have not been carried out. However, commentary has been supplied for those findings where differences between ethnic groups are reasonably reliable.
A household is one person or a group of people (not necessarily related) who have the accommodation as their only or main residence. If it is a group, they must share cooking facilities and also share a living room, sitting room or dining area.
Some households contain people from different ethnic backgrounds; in these circumstances, the ethnic background of the ‘household reference person’ is used to define the ethnic background of the household.
The household reference person is the person in whose name the dwelling is owned or rented or who is otherwise responsible for the accommodation.
What the data measures
The data measures the sources of gross income for households in the UK. Gross income is the amount a household receives from all sources before taxes and other deductions.
The data is broken down by:
- sources of income
- the ethnic group of the ‘household reference person’ (usually the person with the highest income)
Total household income includes income from all people in the household (including children).
Income from pensions includes both the State Pension and private pensions.
Income from benefits includes both:
- non-income related benefits like Child Benefit and Disability Living Allowance
- income-related benefits like Council Tax Reduction and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
The ethnic categories used in this data
This data uses the ethnic categories included in the Family Resources Survey. It also divides the White ethnic group into White British and 'White Other' (for White ethnic minorities).
The categories are as follows:
Asian/ Asian British:
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Bangladeshi
- Chinese
- Asian Other
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups
White:
- White British
- White Other
Other
2. Sources of income by ethnicity
| Ethnicity | All other sources | Self-employed income | Wages and salaries |
|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | |
| All | 28 | 9 | 63 |
| Bangladeshi | 36 | 9 | 55 |
| Chinese | 30 | 6 | 64 |
| Indian | 15 | 8 | 77 |
| Pakistani | 28 | 16 | 56 |
| Asian other | 24 | 10 | 66 |
| Black | 28 | 6 | 66 |
| Mixed | 22 | 7 | 71 |
| White British | 30 | 8 | 62 |
| White other | 14 | 11 | 75 |
| Other | 27 | 10 | 63 |
Download table data for ‘Sources of income by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Sources of income by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Sources of household income Sources of income by ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- on average, UK households received 63% of their total income from wages and salaries, 9% from self-employment, and 28% from other sources including pensions and benefits in the 3-year period 2014/15 to 2016/17
- households in the Indian and Other White ethnic groups received the highest percentage of their income from employment (including wages, salaries and self-employment), at 85% and 86% respectively
- households in the Bangladeshi, Chinese and White British ethnic groups received the highest percentage of income from other sources (including pensions and benefits), at 36%, 30% and 30% respectively
3. Employment income by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2009/10-2011/12 | 2010/11-2012/13 | 2011/12-2013/14 | 2012/13-2014/15 | 2013/14-2015/16 | 2014/15-2016/17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Bangladeshi | 60 | 58 | 60 | 64 | 64 | 64 |
| Chinese | 68 | 69 | 79 | 74 | 75 | 70 |
| Indian | 83 | 84 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 85 |
| Pakistani | 65 | 67 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 72 |
| Asian other | 75 | 73 | 75 | 74 | 76 | 76 |
| Black | 72 | 71 | 69 | 70 | 72 | 72 |
| Mixed | 77 | 74 | 75 | 77 | 78 | 78 |
| White British | 71 | 70 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 70 |
| White other | 83 | 82 | 86 | 86 | 87 | 86 |
| Other | 73 | 74 | 71 | 69 | 69 | 73 |
Download table data for ‘Employment income by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Employment income by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Sources of household income Employment income by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- the percentage of income received from employment (including wages, salaries and self-employment) increased for most ethnic groups over the time period studied – the exceptions were White British and Black households, and those from the Other ethnic group
- households in the Bangladeshi and Pakistani ethnic groups had the biggest increase in the share of income coming from employment over the period studied, at 4 and 7 percentage points respectively
- households in the Bangladeshi ethnic group consistently received the lowest percentage of income from employment, although the percentage increased from 60% to 64% over the period studied
4. Pension income by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2009/10-2011/12 | 2010/11-2012/13 | 2011/12-2013/14 | 2012/13-2014/15 | 2013/14-2015/16 | 2014/15-2016/17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Bangladeshi | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Chinese | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Indian | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Pakistani | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Asian other | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Black | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Mixed | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| White British | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 |
| White other | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Other | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 |
Download table data for ‘Pension income by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Pension income by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Sources of household income Pension income by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- the percentage of household income coming from the State Pension and private pensions combined remained stable for all ethnic groups over the period studied, with no increase or decrease of more than 3 percentage points between the start and the end of the period studied
- White British households received the highest percentage of income from pensions throughout the time period studied (at between 16% and 18%) – this was between 9 and 16 percentage points more than the other ethnic groups
- households in the Pakistani ethnic group received the lowest percentage of income from pensions, and the percentage decreased from 4% to 2% over the time period studied
5. Benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time
| Ethnicity | 2009/10-2011/12 | 2010/11-2012/13 | 2011/12-2013/14 | 2012/13-2014/15 | 2013/14-2015/16 | 2014/15-2016/17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | % | % | |
| All | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Bangladeshi | 27 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 24 |
| Chinese | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Indian | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Pakistani | 24 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 19 |
| Asian other | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Black | 17 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 17 |
| Mixed | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 |
| White British | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| White other | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Other | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
Download table data for ‘Benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Sources of household income Benefits and tax credits by ethnicity over time Summary
This data shows that:
- on average, the percentage of household income coming from benefits and tax credits combined was broadly stable, at between 8% and 9% over the time period covered
- households in the Pakistani ethnic group had the biggest decrease in the share of income from benefits and tax credits, at 5 percentage points
- households in the Bangladeshi ethnic group received the highest percentage of income from benefits and tax credits throughout the time period covered, ranging from 24% to 27%
- households in the Chinese ethnic group received the lowest percentage of income from benefits and tax credits throughout the time period covered, at either 3% or 4%
6. Methodology
The Family Resources Survey (FRS) is a continuous household survey which collects information on a representative sample of private households in the UK. Detailed information is recorded on respondents’ income from all sources:
- housing tenure
- caring needs and responsibilities
- disability
- spending on housing
- education
- pension scheme participation
- childcare
- family circumstances
- child maintenance
The survey is conducted in respondents’ homes. In the latest 3-year period, 2014/15 to 2016/17, the FRS sample consisted of just over 58,000 households in the UK. It has a financial-year survey period with surveys conducted throughout the year and is cross-sectional (a ‘snapshot’ of households over the year). Individuals are not followed up for later surveys.
Estimates are subject to sampling error and non-sampling bias. The FRS only covers private households. Therefore, individuals who live in communal accommodation like care homes or have no fixed address (for example, who are homeless) are not included in these results.
Households where every resident aged 16 years and over responds to the questions are classed as fully co-operating. Only households with full co-operation are included in the analysis. This may introduce some error, as the characteristics of individuals living in households which do not respond fully may be different to those who fully co-operate. Therefore, the sample will be more representative of those who do respond fully. Overall, 54% of households fully co-operated with the survey, meaning there was a sample size of 19,387 households in 2016/17.
Results derived from a low number of responses are more likely to be affected by statistical variation, so observed changes might not reflect real differences. As such, caution is needed when interpreting short-term trends in the data, especially for subgroups (for example, a specific ethnic group, age group and gender). Using a 3-year average for income minimises the risks due to uncertainty.
As the data is presented as a 3-year average, no statistical tests have been carried out to determine whether the estimates taken from the survey are statistically significantly different from one another.
In other words, as the results are based on a sample of the population, without further testing it isn’t possible to determine whether any differences observed would likely be seen across the entire population. This means that conclusions about differences between groups cannot be drawn. However, the data is still useful because it indicates where differences between ethnic groups might exist.
Weighting:
Weighting is used to adjust the results of a survey to make them representative of the population and improve their accuracy.
For example, a survey which contains 25% women and 75% men will not accurately reflect the views of the general population, which we know has an even 50/50 split.
Statisticians rebalance or ‘weight’ the survey results to more accurately represent the general population. This helps to make them more reliable.
Survey weights are usually applied to make sure the survey sample has broadly the same gender, age, ethnic and geographic make up as the general population.’
Suppression rules and disclosure control
Any values based on fewer than 100 responses have been suppressed.
Rounding
Percentages are given to the nearest whole percentage point. Due to this rounding, some figures may not add up to 100.
Related publications
Family Resources Survey with previous years' data and background information
Quality and methodology information
7. Data sources
Source
Family Resources Survey: financial year 2016/17
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Department for Work and Pensions
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Family Resources Survey is mainly used by the Department for Work and Pensions to develop and evaluate social welfare policy.
8. Download the data
This file contains data for the 3-year period 2009/10 to 2016/17. This is the latest data available. This file contains: measure, ethnicity, year, value