Real wages are worth less today than they were in 2008 in two-thirds of UK local authorities, a trade union claims.
Wages are set to be lower – in real terms after inflation is considered – in 212 out of 340 areas in 2024, according to Trades Union Congress (TUC) analysis.
It revealed that, before the financial crash, UK real weekly wages grew on average by 1.7% each year. However, since 2008, average annual wage growth has been -0.2%.
If real wages had continued at the pre-2008 growth rate, average UK workers would be £200 per week, or £10,400 per year, better off.
The TUC said London had the highest share of “real wage blackouts”, with real pay lower than in 2008 in nearly all (94%) of its local authorities.
But the TUC said that even in lower-paid regions of the UK like the North East, real wages are still lower than in 2008 in half (50%) of local authorities.
Meanwhile, even in areas where real wages are higher than in 2008, “pay growth is way below historic[al] trends”.
The TUC added that millions of UK workers are “currently enduring the longest pay squeeze in more than 200 years”, stating that “not since Napoleonic times has there been such a sustained period of wage stagnation”.
Further, it claimed the UK has one of the worst records among OECD nations for pay growth since the financial crisis (ranking in 27th place out of 34).
‘Era of growth rather than falling backwards’
Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said: “Hard work should pay for everyone. But people are still worse off than in 2008 across the vast majority of Britain. And in every corner of the UK, pay growth is way below historic[al] trends.
“Just imagine how much better off people would be if they had an extra £10,400 in their pay packets each year – and how much more prosperous the country would be.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. We can create a new era of decent pay growth again where families’ living standards rise rather than falling backwards.
“But we need a new approach to get there. That means a proper plan to get the economy growing again by investing in UK industry, and a new deal so that working people get a fair share of the wealth they create.”
Related: Unemployment leaps as wage growth continues to slow
