UK wage decline among worst in EU, public sector wages much higher than private sector, private sector was lower to start with but has seen much greater drop-BBC

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8/11/13, "UK wages decline among worst in Europe," BBC

"Wages in the UK have seen one of the largest falls in the European Union during the economic downturn, according to official figures.

Figures from the House of Commons library show average hourly wages have fallen 5.5% since mid-2010, adjusted for inflation, which is the fourth-worst decline in the 27-nation bloc.

By contrast, German hourly wages rose by 2.7% over the same period....Only Greek, Portuguese and Dutch workers have had a steeper decline in hourly wages, the figures showed....

In 2009, the average public-sector worker earned about £16.60 per hour, which dropped to about £15.80 in 2011, the IFS said.

Meanwhile, hourly pay for private-sector workers in 2009 was just over £15.10 and dropped to about £13.60 in 2011." (end of article)


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