DAWN NEESOM MIND OF MY OWN

The Woman's Own columnist has her say on earnings, divorce and swearing...

- 

ARE YOU KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES?

Their name might not actually be Jones, of course, but are your neighbours richer than you?

Thought this kind of thing went out with The Good Life (remember that?) but in today’s cash-strapped, cost-of-living times it appears not.

Now a newspaper has put together a report tracking the relative wealth/ poverty of the UK. Using Office for National Statistics figures the study also lays bare the truth about what jobs earn what.

First, congratulations if you earn £31,602 because that makes you Mrs Normal no matter what job you do. This is the average salary for full- and part- time employees across the UK.

The highest earners are pilots and air traffic controllers, with a median salary of £96,415. That puts them in the top 7% of earners, though given the stress of those jobs, I guess we shouldn't be too shocked.

My husband did good old-fashioned manual work. Which puts him in the middle of the earnings scale as scaffolders, stagers and riggers took home £38,077, while electricians and plumbers earned £38,675 and £37,414 on average, respectively.

These days he's a retired half- man/half-sofa, which according to no official research whatsoever (just me!), is pretty much where an awful lot of working class blokes end up.