UK Living Standards Drop
Tuesday 27th December 2011
NORTH WEST FULL TIME WORKERS SUFFER WORST DROP IN LIVING
STANDARDS IN THE UK AS REAL VALUE OF EARNINGS FALLS BY 9.1% DUE TO
‘BANKERS RECESSION’ AND STALLED RECOVERY
These figures show that the
Government’s strategy for an economic recovery is in tatters as
living standards in the UK drop by 5.9% says GMB
Full time workers resident in the North West
have suffered the worst drop in living standards in the 12 regions
of the UK. The real value of their average gross earnings have
fallen by 9.1% between April 2007 and November 2011, due to
‘bankers recession’ and stalled recovery.
The South West’s full time workers suffered
the next worst fall in living standards in the UK with a drop of
8%, followed by the West Midlands with a drop of 7.6%, the East of
England with a drop of 7.3%, Yorkshire and Humberside with a drop
of 7.1%. In the East Midlands the real value of average earnings
for full time workers is down by 7%, for Wales the fall is 6.7%,
for London the fall is 5.1% and for the South East it is 5.5%. In
Northern Ireland the fall is 4.6%, for Scotland the fall is 4.1%
and for the North East the fall is 2.3%. In all regions in
the UK the real value of the average gross earnings for full time
workers resident in each region have fallen.
These figures are from a new analysis by GMB
of official earnings data. The table below shows the change in
living standards for all 12 regions in the UK, between April 2007
and November 2011. The fall for the UK as a whole is 5.9% and for
England is 6.2% during the same period.
The fall in living standards for full time
workers resident in some parts of the UK have been much more
severe. Full time workers resident in Hammersmith & Fulham have
seen the real value of average earnings drop by 28.6%, the largest
drop in the UK. Next is Herefordshire with a drop of 22.7%,
Bedfordshire down 20.7%, Nottingham down 20.5%, Hillingdon down
19.2%, Harrow and Stirling down 17.2%, Cheshire down 16.6%,
Bracknell Forest down 16.5% and Conwy down 15.8%. The figures for
the top 20 in the UK are set out in Note 4 below. The figures for
all 197 areas of the UK are in a pdf at the foot of this release in
the ‘Newsroom’ of the GMB national website http://www.gmb.org.uk/ . Also set out
in the same place are 11 regional press releases with regional
details and regional GMB contacts details.
In the analysis GMB looks at the figure for
annual average gross earnings of full time workers in each regional
and area from official ASHE data for April 2007 from ONS before the
recession kicked in. This figure is compared with the figure for
annual average gross earnings for the same region/area from ASHE
for April 2011. The changes shown in annual average earnings
between these two periods, plus an uprating for wage increases to
September 2011 are measured against inflation over the same period
to calculate the real change in the value of these earnings. See
Notes to Editors for sources and inflation details.
| |
|
Mean gross annual
(£) - full-time
|
|
|
| |
|
2007
£
|
2011
£
|
Change
£
|
Drop in real value
of earnings from April 2007 to November 2011*
%
|
| |
United Kingdom
|
30,015
|
32,837
|
2,822
|
-5.9
|
| |
England
|
30,852
|
33,661
|
2,809
|
-6.2
|
|
rank
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
North West
|
27,179
|
28,848
|
1,669
|
-9.1
|
|
2
|
South West
|
27,570
|
29,564
|
1,994
|
-8.0
|
|
3
|
West Midlands
|
26,703
|
28,743
|
2,040
|
-7.6
|
|
4
|
East
|
32,134
|
34,691
|
2,557
|
-7.3
|
|
5
|
Yorkshire and The Humber
|
26,368
|
28,527
|
2,159
|
-7.1
|
|
6
|
East Midlands
|
27,308
|
29,565
|
2,257
|
-7.0
|
|
7
|
Wales
|
25,184
|
27,346
|
2,162
|
-6.7
|
|
8
|
London
|
42,226
|
46,284
|
4,058
|
-5.7
|
|
9
|
South East
|
34,514
|
37,904
|
3,390
|
-5.5
|
|
10
|
Northern Ireland
|
24,694
|
27,334
|
2,640
|
-4.6
|
|
11
|
Scotland
|
27,114
|
30,140
|
3,026
|
-4.1
|
|
12
|
North East
|
24,278
|
27,433
|
3,155
|
-2.3
|
Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary said,
“These figures show that the Government’s strategy for an
economic recovery is in tatters as living standards in the UK drop
by 5.9%.
George Osborne has the economic
literacy of a stick of rhubarb.
Full time workers in all regions in
the UK have seen the value of their earnings drop when they have a
job. Things have got a lot worse in the past year as the recovery
underway at the time of the election stalled and the UK is
mired in a new recession.
Two thirds of the economy is consumer
driven and Osborne must be the only person who does not get it.
Squeezing wages, pay freezes and cutting jobs will not restart the
economy. Using the IMF measures his cuts will reduce real private
consumption by 4% and GDP by 3.4% over the next few
years.
I doubt if the electorate had any
notion that a change of government would lead to a loss of 376,000
jobs across the UK, in the public sector, in the short time since
the general election. (See Note 5 for the regional figures for
public services job losses) When the ‘same old Tories’ were
returned to power they brought with them the same old philosophy
that “if it’s not hurting it’s not working.”
Ends
Contact:
Martin Smith, GMB National Organiser on 07974 251722 or Brian
Strutton, GMB National Secretary for Public Services on 07860
606137 or Martin Smith, GMB National Officer on 07974 251722 or GMB
Press Office: Steve Pryle on 07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974
251823.
Please click on the release relevant to you
region below:
Notes to Editors:
1
2007-2011 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings - residence
based Source: Table 7.7a, Annual Survey of Hours and
Earnings, Office for National Statistics. Crown Copyright
Reserved
2
In the analysis GMB looks at the figure for annual average gross
earnings of full time workers in each region/area from official
ASHE data for April 2007 from ONS before the recession kicked in.
This figure is compared with the figure for annual average gross
earnings for the same region/area from ASHE for April 2011.
The changes shown in annual average earnings between these two
periods, plus an uprating for wage increases to September 2011, are
measured against inflation over the same period to calculate the
real change in the value of these earnings.
3
Between April 2007 and November 2011 inflation has been 16.1%, of
which half (7.65%) has taken place since April 2010.
4
The 20 areas in the UK with the biggest drop in the real value of
gross annual average earnings for full time workers resident in the
areas.
| |
|
Mean gross annual
(£) - full-time
|
|
|
| |
|
2007
£
|
2011
£
|
Change
£
|
Drop in real value
of earnings from April 2007 to November 2011*
%
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
rank
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
Hammersmith and Fulham
|
60,082
|
52,053
|
-8,029
|
-28.6
|
|
2
|
Herefordshire, County of UA
|
29,543
|
27,355
|
-2,188
|
-22.7
|
|
3
|
Bedfordshire
|
35,178
|
33,266
|
-1,912
|
-20.7
|
|
4
|
Nottingham UA
|
28,832
|
27,331
|
-1,501
|
-20.5
|
|
5
|
Hillingdon
|
35,641
|
34,251
|
-1,390
|
-19.2
|
|
6
|
Harrow
|
37,149
|
36,427
|
-722
|
-17.2
|
|
7
|
Stirling
|
37,395
|
36,687
|
-708
|
-17.2
|
|
8
|
Cheshire
|
32,921
|
32,487
|
-434
|
-16.6
|
|
9
|
Bracknell Forest UA
|
36,723
|
36,291
|
-432
|
-16.5
|
|
10
|
Conwy
|
26,227
|
26,086
|
-141
|
-15.8
|
|
11
|
Gwynedd
|
25,156
|
25,061
|
-95
|
-15.7
|
|
12
|
Scottish Borders
|
26,872
|
26,783
|
-89
|
-15.6
|
|
13
|
Waltham Forest
|
32,280
|
32,311
|
31
|
-15.2
|
|
14
|
Trafford
|
35,571
|
35,832
|
261
|
-14.5
|
|
15
|
Wiltshire UA
|
30,789
|
31,102
|
313
|
-14.3
|
|
16
|
Eilean Siar
|
24,347
|
24,603
|
256
|
-14.2
|
|
17
|
Ealing
|
37,388
|
37,918
|
530
|
-13.9
|
|
18
|
North Somerset UA
|
32,858
|
33,463
|
605
|
-13.4
|
|
19
|
Isle of Wight UA
|
26,071
|
26,648
|
577
|
-13.1
|
|
20
|
Sefton
|
25,988
|
26,572
|
584
|
-13.0
|
Note 5 Regional figures
for public services job losses since the General Election from the
Office of National Statistics (ONS)
| |
Headcount (not seasonally adjusted
|
|
| |
Q1 2010
|
Q3 2011
|
change
|
% change
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
South West
|
549,000
|
495,000
|
-54,000
|
-9.8
|
|
|
North West
|
724,000
|
680,000
|
-44,000
|
-6.1
|
|
|
London
|
831,000
|
790,000
|
-41,000
|
-4.9
|
|
|
South East
|
719,000
|
678,000
|
-41,000
|
-5.7
|
|
|
Eastern
|
475,000
|
444,000
|
-31,000
|
-6.5
|
|
|
West Midlands
|
526,000
|
496,000
|
-30,000
|
-5.7
|
|
|
Yorkshire and the Humber
|
562,000
|
536,000
|
-26,000
|
-4.6
|
|
|
North East
|
297,000
|
274,000
|
-23,000
|
-7.7
|
|
|
East Midlands
|
402,000
|
382,000
|
-20,000
|
-5.0
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wales
|
347,000
|
333,000
|
-14,000
|
-4.0
|
|
|
Scotland
|
625,000
|
589,000
|
-36,000
|
-5.8
|
|
|
Northern Ireland
|
229,000
|
218,000
|
-11,000
|
-4.8
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
England
|
5,084,000
|
4,775,000
|
-309,000
|
-6.1
|
|
|
Great Britain
|
6,057,000
|
5,697,000
|
-360,000
|
-5.9
|
|
|
United Kingdom
|
6,333,000
|
5,957,000
|
-376,000
|
-5.9
|
|