How do the incomes of men and women compare? How have they changed in recent years and whose income is highest? These are questions that are often asked and speculated upon in the context of male/female earnings and income divisions. Using data from the CSO's Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) it is possible to reach some answers - something we report in the latest edition of the NERI's Quarterly Economic Facts document (see indicator 4.3b).
The data we report in the QEF, and summarised in the chart and table in this blog, is for the period from 2006-2010 and is based on total household income adjusted to take account of the number of adults and children in the households.
Throughout the period male and female incomes follow a similar trend. However, male incomes consistently exceed female incomes by between 2-6% per annum. Incomes peaked in 2008 and have since declined by 9% on average (by 8.4% for males and 9.7% for females) reflecting decreases in earnings, reduced welfare payments and increases in income taxation levels.
As the level of average individual equivalised disposable income can be biased by individuals in the income distribution with very high, or very low, incomes, data for the median person is also presented. This data, only published for 2009 and 2010, provides income data for the middle person, middle male and middle female in the Irish income distribution. On average, between 2009 and 2010 this decreased by over €2,000 (10.2%) to €18,051 per annum.
Full details in the latest edition of the NERI's Quarterly Economic Facts.