London Top And North East And Northern Ireland Bottom Of The UK 2008 Regional Pay League For Full Time Workers

29 Dec 2008

Full time men and women workers employed in jobs in workplaces in Greater London earned an average of £46,462 a year in 2008. This figure is 148% of the UK average for full time workers of £31,323 a year and places London at the top of the UK regional pay league. Full time men and women workers employed in jobs in the North East and Northern Ireland earned an average of £25,551 and £25,550 a year respectively in 2008. These figures are 82% of the UK average and places them at the bottom of the UK regional pay league. See table below for the figures for each of the UK’s 12 regions.

There are 50 areas in the UK where average earnings in workplaces in those areas are above the UK average. Top is City of London on £82,084 (262% of UK average). Also in the top 50 are 27 London Boroughs as well as Windsor & Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest, Wokingham, Bournemouth UA, Surrey, Slough, Aberdeen, West Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Manchester, Solihull, Portsmouth Unitary Authority (UA), Edinburgh, Derby UA, Luton, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Swindon UA, Milton Keynes, Warrington UA, and York UA.

There are 33 places in the UK where earnings are less than 80% of the UK average. Bottom is the Blaenau Gwent on £21,550 (69% of UK average). There are 33 places in the UK where earnings are less than 80% of the UK average. Bottom of the UK league is the Blaenau Gwent on £21,550 (69% of UK average). The other 32 areas are Inverclyde 69%, Ceredigion 70%, Blackpool UA 70%, Rochdale 70%, Oldham 72%, Powys 72%, Scottish Borders 74%, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 75%, Conwy 75%, Merthyr Tydfil 75%, Moray 76%, Swansea 77%, Monmouthshire 77%, West Dunbartonshire 77%, Torbay UA 77%, Dumfries & Galloway 78%, Isle of Wight UA 78%, Wirral 78%, Walsall 78%, Isle of Anglesey 78%, Northumberland 78%, Angus 78%, Durham 78%, Rhondda, Cynon, Taff 78%, Hartlepool UA 78%, Darlington UA 79%, Caerphilly 79%, Lincolnshire 79%, Barnsley 79%, Rutland UA 79%, Middlesbrough UA 79% and Gateshead 79%.The figures for all 203 areas in the UK is available at www.gmb.org.uk at the foot of the national release. There are also 11 regional releases covering the 11 regions of GB.

Mean average earnings for full-time workers in UK Regions ranked from highest to lowest

Rank	UK Region	Average gross annual pay of full time men & women	% of the average annual pay of full time men & women in UK
1	London	46,462	148
2	South East	32,819	105
3	East	30,318	97
4	Scotland	28,296	90
5	South West	28,182	90
6	East Midlands	28,057	90
7	North West	28,045	90
8	West Midlands	27,872	89
9	Yorkshire and The Humber	27,534	88
10	Wales	25,677	82
11	North East	25,551	82
12	Northern Ireland	25,550	82

Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary said, “This GMB analysis of pay for April 2008 shows the regions and areas that did go some way to replace the skilled manufacturing jobs that were lost in the recessions in the 1980’s and 1990’s and those regions and areas still to do so. Since these figures were taken up the credit crunch, which originated from excesses in the financial sector, has now given rise to a full blown recession and the misery that that entails. We will have to see if pay holds up in 2009 in the face of this slowdown.

As well as taking measures to restart their economies, Governments in the UK and elsewhere need to take steps to deal once and for all with the elements in the financial sector that visited this recession upon us. We can no longer tolerate a 'provisional wing' of capitalism that is allowed to cock a snoop at the standards of transparency, disclosure and accountability required of the 'official wing' of the financial sector bound by stock exchange rules. Trading by this 'provisional wing' in financial markets should be outlawed forthwith.”

Ends

Contact: Paul Maloney on 08801 343 839 or GMB Press Office: Steve Pryle on 07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974 251823.

Notes to Editors:

1 These figures are from a new analysis by GMB, Britain’s general union, of the recently published Table 7.7a of the 2008 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings by the Office of National Statistics. These are the most recent figures from the survey in April 2008. GMB’s analysis ranks the average gross annual pay for full time men and women workers from the highest to the lowest for each region and area of the UK and expresses the pay in each area as a percentage of the average annual pay of full time men and women in UK. The figures are for jobs in the area. What is shown is an average of the gross pay of the higher and lower paid jobs.

Click here to view full table of figures

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