Sources of Income
10.13 The main source of income for households in the South West is wages and salaries, accounting for 64% of total income according to Family Spending 2006. This is the lowest percentage of any English region and well below the England average of 68%. This reflects the relatively low wage economy of the South West, the increased incidence of part-time working and the proportion of population of retirement age.
| Region/Country |
Wages & salaries |
Self employment |
Investments |
Annuities & pensions |
Social security benefits |
Other sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East |
65 |
5 |
1 |
8 |
20 |
2 |
| North West |
68 |
7 |
2 |
8 |
15 |
1 |
| Yorkshire & Humber |
68 |
7 |
2 |
7 |
15 |
1 |
| East Midlands |
70 |
6 |
3 |
7 |
13 |
1 |
| West Midlands |
67 |
9 |
2 |
7 |
13 |
1 |
| East |
68 |
10 |
3 |
7 |
11 |
1 |
| London |
72 |
10 |
4 |
4 |
9 |
1 |
| South East |
67 |
10 |
4 |
8 |
10 |
1 |
| South West |
64 |
8 |
4 |
10 |
13 |
1 |
| England |
68 |
9 |
3 |
7 |
12 |
1 |
| Source: Expenditure and Food Survey 2003/04 - 2005/06, Office for National Statistics | ||||||
| Family Spending 2006 | ||||||
10.14 In common with most other regions, the second largest source of income for South West households is from social security benefits which account for 13% of all income (Eng: 12%). At 10% the third largest contributor to household incomes in the region is annuities and pensions. With the oldest demographic profile of any English region it is perhaps not surprising that this is the highest percentage of any English region and is above the average for England of 7%.
For more information on disposable incomes see chapter 2 ‘Economy’.