This shows what kinds of households sit in the highest, middle and lowest 20% household income groups, by main income source and the employment status of the household reference person (usually the household member with the highest income). It shows that most people in the lowest 20% are in households that rely mainly on government pensions and allowances (60%) for their income.

Unsurprisingly, most (58%) of people in the lowest 20% belong to  households in which the reference person is not in the labour force (for example, retired, has a disability, or caring for a family member)Another 7%  are in households whose reference person is unemployed. More surprisingly, 20% of the lowest income group are in households whose reference person is employed full time. These are mainly families with children, since we have adjusted their household incomes downwards to reflect their higher costs. For this reason, almost half (46%) of the lowest 20% are in families with children, including a disproportionately high share of sole parents (12%). Single people without children (20%) are also over-represented in this income group.

As we move up the income ladder, a growing share of household income comes from earnings. Among people in the second 20% from the bottom of the income rankings, 62% live in households where  the main income is earnings. Their wages would be relatively low. Among all people in this income group, 50% are in households whose reference person is employed full-time and 20% where they are  employed part-time. Only 1% are in households whose reference person is unemployed, as they are more likely to be found in the lowest 20%. On the other hand, 20% of people in this income group are in ‘older’ households whose reference person is retired. This group is more likely to include couples with significant investment income.

A majority (55%) of people in the second 20% are in families with children, but with a much smaller representation of sole parents (9%) than in the lowest 20%. We find fewer singles (8%) and couples (17%) without children generally in this income group. Turning to  the highest 20%, 87% live in households where earnings are the main income source, and 87% are in households whose reference person is employed full time. A significant share (9%) of people in the highest 20%live in households where investments are the main source of income. This implies that their investment incomes are equivalent to the earnings typically received by high-income households. No people in the highest 20% are in households whose main income is social security.