[UK] Pay packets in two-thirds of local authorities worth less than in 2008

In nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of UK local authorities, pay packets continue to be worth less than in 2008, according to new TUC analysis, TUC reports.

The analysis of official statistics - published on April 29 - shows that 16 years after the global financial crisis, wages will be lower, in real terms, in 212 out of 340 UK local authorities in 2024.

Real wages in every UK local authority reportedly remain far below where they would be if they had grown at the pre-2008 growth rate.

The highest proportion of real wage blackspots is in London, where real pay is lower than in 2008 in nearly all (94 per cent) local authorities.

Even in lower-paid regions of the UK such as the North East - where incomes of the lowest paid have been boosted by the minimum wage - real wages are still lower than in 2008 in half (50 per cent) of local authorities.

According to the TUC, the findings are a “damning indictment” of the Conservatives’ economic record.

Millions of workers are suffering the longest pay squeeze in more than 200 years. There hasn’t been such a sustained period of wage stagnation in the UK since Napoleonic times.

The analysis reportedly revealed that pay growth is well below historic trends, even in areas where real wages are higher than in 2008.

The TUC estimates that the average UK worker would be £10,400 a year better off if real wages had grown at their pre-crisis trend; the equivalent of £200 a week.

UK real weekly wages grew on average by 1.7 per cent each year before the financial crash. Since 2008, average annual growth has been –0.2 per cent.

Source: TUC

In nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of UK local authorities, pay packets continue to be worth less than in 2008, according to new TUC analysis, TUC reports.

The analysis of official statistics - published on April 29 - shows that 16 years after the global financial crisis, wages will be lower, in real terms, in 212 out of 340 UK local authorities in 2024.

Real wages in every UK local authority reportedly remain far below where they would be if they had grown at the pre-2008 growth rate.

The highest proportion of real wage blackspots is in London, where real pay is lower than in 2008 in nearly all (94 per cent) local authorities.

Even in lower-paid regions of the UK such as the North East - where incomes of the lowest paid have been boosted by the minimum wage - real wages are still lower than in 2008 in half (50 per cent) of local authorities.

According to the TUC, the findings are a “damning indictment” of the Conservatives’ economic record.

Millions of workers are suffering the longest pay squeeze in more than 200 years. There hasn’t been such a sustained period of wage stagnation in the UK since Napoleonic times.

The analysis reportedly revealed that pay growth is well below historic trends, even in areas where real wages are higher than in 2008.

The TUC estimates that the average UK worker would be £10,400 a year better off if real wages had grown at their pre-crisis trend; the equivalent of £200 a week.

UK real weekly wages grew on average by 1.7 per cent each year before the financial crash. Since 2008, average annual growth has been –0.2 per cent.

Source: TUC