The estimated average wage in Bermuda has risen to $53,816 in 2003, up over 20 percent, or $9,000, from $44,680 in 2000.

The largest rises in wages paid out is in international business, but those working in public administration and defence, construction, business services, banking and transport and communication have all seen substantial rises.

Although the figures are not likely to be completely accurate due to residents holding more than one job, working part time or overtime and due to provisional figures provided by Government, they are arrived at using the most up-to-date information available.

According to figures released by the Statistics Department this week in the 'Detailed Tabulations of the Quarterly Bulletin of Statistics', the total employment income for 2003 was $2.04 billion. And the same series of figures shows that the most recent figure for the total employment states that there are 37,815 jobs in Bermuda (2002 figures).

The average or mean wage for 2003 is reached by dividing the employment income by the number of jobs.

Employment income a year earlier was $1.91 billion - giving an estimated average wage of $50,386, which means that the estimated average wage from 2002 to to 2003 rose by nearly seven percent.

In 2001 the employment income for the year was $1.80 billion - giving an estimated average wage of $47,778. The estimated average wage rose by 5.5 percent from 2002 to 2001, while the rise from 2000 to 2001 was seven percent.

It is difficult to see from the figures how much each sector earns as the 'Employment Income by Selected Industry' published has different job categories from the 'Total Employment by Major Occupations and Industry Groups', making any average wages impossible to work out.

Of the nine categories of the 'Total Employment by Major Occupations and Industry Groups', the largest block of money for 2003 is paid out in international business, with $442.305 million paid out in salaries, which represents approximately one fifth of all the wages paid out during that year.

The second largest category is the "all other" with $380.0 million, followed by public administration and defence with $284 million, then banking insurance and real estate with $222 million.

Business services comes in at $184.8 million, wholesale and retail at $181.3 million, hotels and restaurants at $128.3 million, construction at $124.7 million and transport and communications at $87.8 million.

There are several sectors where a rough average wage can be worked out as the categories are listed as the same in both separate lists of number of jobs (2002 figures) and the amounts earned (2003 figures), though it is not known if the categories are compiled in the same way.

If this is computed, the highest earners then would be international business, where number of people listed as employed in that category is 3,587, making the average wage $123,308.

Business services is also on both lists, with 3,872 working in that sector making the average wage $47,740, and 2,859 work in transport and communication, earning an average wage of $30,694.

Construction and hotels and restaurants also appear to be roughly broken down in the same categories.

The total number of people listed as working in hotels and restaurants,cafes and bars totals 4,913, meaning the estimated average wage in this sector is $26,113. Many jobs in these sectors are part time or second jobs, so the figures will show a lower average wage.

The total number of people working in construction is listed as 2,917, and this same category is listed as earning $125 million, which gives an average wage of $42,741, but hours also vary in this category from overtime when there is a lot of work to jobs cancelled when weather is poor.