Wages 'take a hammering' for sixth month in a row
2 min read
Wages have continued to lag behind prices for the sixth month in a row despite hundreds of thousands more people being in work, official figures have revealed.
Pay fell by 0.3% in the year to August when rising prices were taken into account, and by 0.4% without counting bonuses, the Office for National Statistics said.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady lamented that pay packets were “taking a hammering” and demanded pay rises for public sector workers.
“Britain desperately needs a pay rise. Working people are earning less today (in real-terms) than a decade ago,” she added.
Shadow Employment Minister Margaret Greenwood said the drop in real wages was “deeply concerning".
While Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, who campaigns for the pro-EU Open Britain group, blamed Brexit for "continuing to depress real wages".
“Brexit uncertainty and the slump in sterling after the referendum is hitting families in the pocket. The Brexit squeeze is lightening pay packets and looks set to continue," he said.
Meanwhile, some 94,000 people found work in the three months to August compared with the previous three months, and 317,000 more compared with a year ago.
There were 52,000 fewer unemployed people on the three month measure and 215,000 fewer compared with the same period the year before.
Senior ONS statistician Matt Hughes said: “Employment growth in the latest three-month period was driven mainly by women, with a corresponding drop in inactivity. Vacancies remain robust, at a near-record level.
“On the other hand, total earnings in cash terms grew slower than prices over the last year, meaning their real value continues to fall, down 0.3% over that period.”
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