Farmers, forestry workers and fishermen 'happiest'

London, July 23 (ANI): People who work in farming, forestry and fishing are happier than others, according to a new survey.

It is the British Government's first ever survey of National Well Being and published by the Office for National Statistics, the Telegraph reported.

The ONS - more used to weighing up public sector finances or crime statistics - was given the rather subjective task of asking how happy people in Britain are by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010.

Ministers want to use the information to allow young people to make informed choices about their jobs - asking whether they will be happy, rather than whether they will earn a lot of money.

The study found that at the top of the satisfaction list were people who work in "agriculture, forestry and fishing".

They were followed - perhaps surprisingly - by "people working in mining, quarrying, "real estate activities", electricity and gas supply and "water supply, sewerage and waste."

Making the top third of the satisfaction index were those working in "admin and support services", transport and storage", "accommodation and food services" and "wholesale repair of vehicles".

Even people who are paid to cheer us up did not appear to be a very happy with their lot, with those working in "arts, entertainment and recreation" ranked below bankers and insurers for job satisfaction.

The study covered the quality of life of people in the UK, environmental and sustainability issues, as well as the economic performance of the country.

The ONS wants the new well-being survey to "provide a more coherent measure of 'how the country is doing' than standalone measures such as GDP". (ANI)