06 May 2009
The Statistics Unit has now launched the 2009/10 Household Spending and Income Survey. This will collect information about the spending habits and income of Jersey households.
A Household Expenditure Survey was last run in 2004/2005, and the last Income Distribution Survey was run in 2002. This new “Household Spending and Income Survey” (HSIS) combines both, and will run for a year from May 2009 to May 2010. A sample of households will be chosen each month at random and asked to participate for 2 weeks each.
Over the next twelve months, letters will be sent to randomly selected households by the Statistics Unit. One of the unit’s trained field-workers will then visit each household to talk through the survey and answer any questions they might have.
The main purpose of the survey is to update the Jersey Retail Prices index (RPI, also known as “Cost of living”). It is vital to everyone that the RPI is accurate, as it is not only a key economic measure, but also often affects pay negotiations and rents, and is used to update a variety of benefits.
It is also important to collect information on different sources of income for different household types, so we can assess income distribution for Islanders. That information can then be used to analyse the impact of income support and benefits, or to investigate the effect of housing costs on income levels.
The Statistics Unit greatly appreciates the help of all those who will participate in the Survey, as they are representing not only their own household, but all others like it. The HSIS is an opportunity for Islanders to take part in a process that affects everyone in Jersey, and it is hoped that the majority of the selected households will take it up. Households may themselves like the idea of tracking exactly what they spend their money on as it can be a useful household budgeting exercise.
Any information given by households in this survey will be treated as strictly confidential, and will not be shared with anyone outside the Statistics Unit.
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