The wealthiest tenth of households owned 43.8% of the overall wealth. Photo credit: ONS
By Paula Planelles
Whereas many people are suffering the devastating consequences of the Eurozone crisis, others have the privilege to be on the top of the list of the wealthiest people in Great Britain. According to a new report published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), South East and after London have the biggest share of the wealthiest households in the country.
More than 1 in 7 households in the South East of England are on the top of the list of the 10 per cent of the wealthiest households, according to the new figures released by the ONS. The figures, taken from the Wealth & Assets survey, also show that the wealthiest 10 per cent of people are those with a total household wealth of at least £967,000. The figures become more impressive regarding the top 1 per cent of households, who reached a total wealth of at least £2,807,000.
It seems that profession is an important differential cause factor, as household heads who were at the top of the list were over three times more likely to work in a high position than those in the least wealthy 50 per cent of households. 78.1 per cent of them were in high skilled managerial or professional occupations. In comparison, just over one in every four household heads living in the least wealthy half of all households held a job at this level (24.9 per cent), according to the study. In addition, over half (55.1 per cent) in the top 10 per cent of the list had gained a qualification at degree level or higher, compared with 16.4% of household heads with a degree level qualification or higher living in households in the bottom half of the wealth distribution.
Chart of the wealth across England, Wales and Scotland. Photo credit: ONS
The survey also analyzed the economic situation in Great Britain per regions, considering the nine regions of England and the countries of Wales and Scotland. Taking all of these places into account, South East has the biggest percentage of households with a total wealth greater than £967,000 (15.5 per cent). London is in second position, with 12.5 per cent. On the contrary, Scotland has the lowest share of wealthiest households, with less than 1 in 14 of Scottish households coming from the top 10%, according to the report.
The report contrasts with the harsh reality of other citizens, such as the 2.51 million who are out of work in the UK, according to the latest report about unemployment published by the ONS. The report also points out that the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose by 10,101 in October to 1.58 million.
Two realities of the same country.
