UK Wages Squeezed: Real Pay Lower in Most Local Authorities than in 2008, TUC Reports
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) reported that the average pay in most local authorities in the UK has not kept up with inflation since 2008.
This means that real terms average pay is lower now than it was before the global financial crisis.
The TUC described this as the longest squeeze on wages since the Napoleonic era.
The majority (63%) of local authorities in the UK have experienced this trend, with many "wage black spots" in London.
The TUC attributed this to austerity measures implemented by the Conservative government.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) reported that the average UK worker could have earned an additional £10,400 annually if real wages had continued growing at their pre-crisis rate.
London has the most "wage black spots," with real wages below 2008 levels in almost all of its local authorities.
The TUC attributed this to austerity measures imposed by the Conservative government after the 2008 global financial crisis.
They claimed that wage growth had started to recover until the government reduced public spending, resulting in real terms wage cuts in the public sector.
Between 1997 and 2008, real weekly wages in the UK grew by an average of 1.7% per year.
After the 2008 global banking crisis, the average annual growth rate has been -0.2%.
The UK, in particular, has experienced slow wage recovery, according to the TUC.
They attributed this to successive Conservative governments, labeling it one of the poorest records for pay growth within the OECD group of developed economies.