This indicator measures the average labour income differences between workers with middle or higher education with respect to workers that only completed basic education. The indicator is also presented by age groups, insofar as younger workers are usually concentrated into the low wage deciles, while adult workers are more concentrated in high wage deciles.

The representative labour income refers to the median labour income, i.e., the value of the labour income that divides the number of workers into two equal groups: the group of workers with a labour income above that value and the group of workers with labour income above that value. Given the existence of significant differences between countries in the participation of women in the labour market, it has been decided to compare only the labour income of men. This avoids any bias derived from comparing women’s salaries between countries.