Today’s (Wednesday) labour market figures show real wages falling for the seventh month in a row. Average weekly pay rose by 2.2% less than rising prises leaving a fall in real terms of .5% according to the government figures. Unemployment in the region has risen very slightly at 0.1% to 3.6%.
Weekly pay in Dorset at £420.30 is well below the UK average at £448.6 – a fall in real terms of £2,237 a year since 2008 and getting worse based on today’s figures.
TUC South West Regional Secretary Nigel Costley said:
“This is the seventh month in a row that prices have risen faster than wages. But ministers are still twiddling their thumbs.
“Running the economy is not a spectator sport – the Chancellor must have a game plan to give Britain a pay rise in next week’s Budget.
“Public sector workers have been feeling the brunt of austerity with the pay freeze, then the pay cap and are long overdue a decent pay rise. And we urgently need investment in high-skilled jobs to get productivity going again.
“More people in Dorset are in-work but falling into poverty, the minimum wage must be put up to £10 as soon as possible.”
