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Historical social welfare rates?

  • 15-07-2010 2:16pm
    #1
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭


    Anyone know where I'd get figures on the rate of social welfare paid since it started, year by year?


Comments

  • #2
    cavedave
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,164 ✭✭✭cavedave


    Not exactly what you want but part of the question is what are the average wages and prices at the time. There is an interesting description here of the average industrial wage and the cost of a pint over time.
    1983 wage 182.42 and pint 1.37 in euros

    You need to take into account net wage rates as our tax levels have changed over time.
    unemployment assistance at the weekly rate of £43.55. He had been receiving unemployment assistance up to April 1980
    so if unemployment benefit was 43.55 in 1980 when the average wage was 120 a week. that would be equivilant to an average wage of about 550 euro now on a 205 unemployment benefit.


  • #3
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    cavedave wrote: »
    so if unemployment benefit was 43.55 in 1980 when the average wage was 120 a week. that would be equivilant to an average wage of about 550 euro now on a 205 unemployment benefit.

    Thanks, @cavedave, but i don't quite understand you.

    Are you saying that 43.55 in 1980 is equivalent to 550 now?


  • #4
    noodler
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,734 ✭✭✭✭noodler


    Qualitymark wrote: »
    Thanks, @cavedave, but i don't quite understand you.

    Are you saying that 43.55 in 1980 is equivalent to 550 now?

    I think he means that: Since 43.55 was (about 36%) of 120 in 1980

    then is should be noted that 36% of 550 nowadays is 198.

    Keep the inflation in mind for example.

    Maybe a better measure, as he suggests, would be soical welfare as a % of the average wage.


  • #5
    Qualitymark
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,824 ✭✭✭Qualitymark


    Thanks, noodler. Though the 'average wage' was always far, far more than I or my friends were earning in my youth!

    Actually I don't need the dole figure to compare it with anything modern; I need it to compare it with a contemporaneous figure from the 1960s.


  • #6
    cavedave
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,164 ✭✭✭cavedave


    There is a paper here 'http://latienda.ie.edu/working_papers_economia/WP05-18.pdf' that seems to have some of your answers.
    Qualitymark
    Thanks, @cavedave, but i don't quite understand you.

    Are you saying that 43.55 in 1980 is equivalent to 550 now?
    No I am saying that 120/43 is the same ratio as to 550/205 (wage/benefit). When the actual average wage now is about 600. But this ignores taxes, how many people actually have a job, actual cost of living etc.


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