The Distribution of Income in Ireland (2000) - Combat Poverty Agency

28 The Distribution of Income in IrelandTable 3.9: Position in the Income Distribution of PersonsCategorised by Sex of Household Head, 1994 and 1997 LIISurveysA: 1994B:1997QuintileBottom234TopAllBottom234TopAllPosition in Equivalised (1/0.66/0.33) DisposableIncome Distribution (%)Male or Couple Head19.117.320.921.521.2100.017.419.220.621.221.5100.0Female Head24.335.614.911.813.4100.035.724.915.813.010.7100.0Figure 3.3 categorises people by the labour force status of thehead of their household, and we see that those in householdsheaded by an employee are mostly located in the top threequintiles. Those in households with a self-employed head arerelatively heavily concentrated both at the bottom and at thetop of the income distribution. Those in households headed bya farmer are fairly evenly spread over the distribution. Over 60per cent of those in households headed by an unemployed personwere in the bottom quintile in 1994, and by 1997 this hadrisen to 68 per cent. Those in households headed by a retiredperson were heavily concentrated in the second and thirdquintile from the bottom in 1994, but by 1997 the proportion inthe bottom quintile had risen a good deal. Those in householdswhere the head works full-time in the home were mostly in thebottom 2 quintiles in each year.The Distribution of Income in the 1990s 29Figure 3.3: Position in the Income Distribution of PersonsCategorised by Labour Force Status of Household Head,1994 LII Survey*Employee Self- Farmer Unemployed Retired Home Dutiesemployed• Bottom D2 S3 B4 DTopEmployee Self- Farmer Unemployed Retired Home Dutiesemployed• Bottom D2 S3 B4 OTop* See Table A2.3 in Appendix 2 for data.Finally, Table 3.10 focuses on a categorisation by the number ofadults and children in the household. This shows that those in 1-adult households were heavily concentrated in the secondquintile from the bottom in 1994, and in the bottom quintile in1997. Those in households comprising 1 adult with childrenwere very heavily concentrated right at the bottom of the distribution,though less so in 1997 than in 1994. A relatively highproportion of those in households comprising couples with 1 or