The research resport by the BBc one show Panorama, showed that average annual salaries are £20,419, once tax has been deducted. But when the impact of inflation was factored in, the buying power of people’s pay is actually lower now than in 2004.
In particular, workers in the construction sector have been hardest, with the value of their take-home pay falling by £1,188 a year, in real terms, since 2009.
David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee said;
‘One of the bleak things going on right now is that people are very fearful of losing their jobs,’
‘Company profits have been relatively low, so the ability of firms to pay has actually prevented wages from rising.’
‘So unemployment and the fear that it will rise further, is what’s containing wage pressure right now.’
