HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Migrant Workers Scan

The Wage and Employment Dynamics (WED) project is linking key datasets providing  valuable new insights into earnings, employment, and labour market inequality in Britain.

With support from the Office for National Statistics Secure Research Service, the project is enhancing and linking the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) dataset. The project is providing detailed data on earnings and paid hours across all industries and occupations by linking key administrative datasets:  

The latest addition to the WED suite is the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings linked to Migrant Worker Scan (ASHE-MWS), which enables dynamic analysis of migrant experiences in the UK labour market. Based on administrative records of non-UK nationals applying for a National Insurance number, MWS typically covers adults arriving to work and young people registering at age 16. While the dataset dates back to 1975, its current form began in 2002 and includes variables such as gender, age, nationality, and arrival date. 

Tracking pay, employment patterns, and transitions over time

Importantly, ASHE-MWS can be connected to broader HMRC datasets in the Secure Research Service, allowing researchers to track pay, employment patterns, and transitions over time. Together, the WED datasets offer a rich resource for longitudinal labour market research, supporting intersectional analysis and insights into low pay persistence, regional disparities, and the impact of policies like the National Living Wage.