Derived from the Census question, 'What is the total of all wages/salaries, government benefits, pensions, allowances and other income the person usually receives?' This is the gross amount and relates only to persons aged 15 years or more.
Individual Income is an indicator of socio-economic status, skills and occupations required in a particular industry. With other data sources, such as Qualifications and Occupation, it helps to evaluate the economic opportunities of people in an industry.
The amount of income an individual receives is linked to a number of factors including the person's:
Wages in The Hills Shire can vary greatly across industry sectors. As well as being related to the type of jobs and qualifications required in a particular industry, income levels can be related to the level of part-time employment and the Age Structure of the workforce, so the data should be looked at in conjunction with these topics.
Incomes of workers are not comparable over time because of the influences of economic change such as wage level fluctuations and inflation. The income quartile method has been adopted as the most objective method of comparing change in the income profile of a workforce over time.
Household income quartiles look at the distribution of incomes in the selected industry within The Hills Shire relative to the selected benchmark. Quartiles split the total number of households into four equal parts for the total workforce (all industries) in Sydney SD. The table shows the number and proportion of workers in the selected industry in the The Hills Shire falling into each segment.
The table gives a clear picture of where income levels in a particular industry sit relative to the same industry in the selected benchmark area, or compared to all industries in the LGA. For the total of all industries in the Sydney SD, 25% of households fall into each category. If, for example, the retail trade industry has 30% of workers in the lowest category and only 10% in the highest category, this indicates that the incomes in retail in The Hills Shire are generally lower than the workforce across Sydney SD. However it would also be worthwhile to compare to the same industry (retail) in the benchmark area, as you may find that incomes are in fact similar or even higher when this comparison is made. The total of workers in all industries is only used to calculate the four quartiles. Once the dollar values have been established for these quartiles (listed below), you are able to make meaningful comparisons to any industry or area.
Incomes of workers are not comparable over time because of the influences of economic change such as wage level fluctuations and inflation. The income quartile method has been adopted as the most objective method of comparing change in the income profile of a workforce over time. It is also a useful method of comparing income levels between industries by grouping incomes into broader ranges.
Source: Derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing 2001 and 2006.
Please refer to the data notes for more information.
NOTE: Table totals may not equate with other similar tables due to randomisation of small numbers.