The provisions dealing with the average weekly wage are found in Section 371 of the Act. The basic method of calculation provides that the average weekly wage is based on the highest 39 of the last 52 weeks before the injury.

If John Doe received a wage of $500 per week for each week for the last year before the injury, there is no problem. His average weekly wage is $500.

If he worked for each of the 52 weeks before the injury but earned a different rate for each of those weeks, we would look at the 39 highest weeks. We would then determine the average by taking the total wages for those 39 weeks and dividing them by 39.

If John worked less than 39 weeks during the year prior to his injury, we divide the total earnings by the number of weeks he actually worked. Weeks in which no work was performed are not included in this calculation. Thus, if he worked for only 30 weeks during the year prior to his injury and earned a total of $9,000, the average weekly wage would be $300 ($9,000 divided by 30).