Jobs data from the Office for National Statistics shows real terms pay, which accounts for inflation, fell 2.8% between March and May
The Financial Times’ retail correspondent highlights how the debate around public sector pay and strikes seems to ignore the salary hikes so far enjoyed by private sector staff:
Despite employers like Santander UK attempting to combat the cost of living crisis for staff by raising salaries, there is a growing divide between public and private sector pay.
Growth in total pay, including bonuses, was 6.2% on average across the entire UK workforce. But there is a stark comparison between private sector wages, which rose by 7.2%, and public sector pay, which went up just 1.5%.
It seems the government is exercising pay restraint in the face of runaway inflation, but the private sector is not.
Against such a backdrop it’s no wonder businesses are willing to cough up more to get new staff and keep existing employees on the books.
The number of vacancies fell very slightly on the last reading, which means we may have just crested off the back of the peak and could start to see some normalisation of the labour market.
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