Stagnant wages since 2008 financial crash means workers £11,000 worse off, BBC Panorama reveals
Workers are £11,000 worse off per year due to 15 years of wage stagnation, according to the Resolution Foundation.
In new figures shared with BBC Panorama, the think tank calculated that, had wages continued to grow at the pace seen before the 2008 financial crash, the average worker would make £11,000 more per year than they do now, taking rising prices into account.
Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, told the BBC the wage stagnation of the past 15 years is “almost completely unprecedented”.
He said: “Nobody who’s alive and working in the British economy today has ever seen anything like this.
“This is definitely not what normal looks like. This is what failure looks like.”
The think tank also found typical UK household incomes have fallen further behind those in Germany: in 2008, the gap was more than £500 a year, now it is £4,000.
A Treasury spokesman told the broadcaster the Government was increasing incentives for investment and signalled low unemployment – as well as its plan to increase growth – as signs the country was on the right track.
It comes as voters in the Conservative seat of South Swindon, in the southwest, indicated they were willing to support Labour at the next election following the chancellor’s budget.
Jeremy Hunt was criticised for his “kick in the teeth” financial statement, the Guardian reported, as higher earners received a pensions giveaway amid the cost of living crisis.
Researchers at More in Common found most voters agreed Labour might not have done a worse job delivering the budget.
Conleth Burns said while announcements “might have impressed Westminster insiders” it “simply wasn’t cutting it for the voters we spoke to in South Swindon”.
A Treasury spokesperson said: “The jobs market remains strong, but inflation remains too high. To help people’s wages go further, we need to stick to our plan to halve inflation this year.
“Last week’s budget set out how we will go further to bear down on inflation, reduce debt and grow the economy, including by helping more people into well paid work.”
Press Association – Alana Calvert