Wages for UK workers have declined at one of the greatest rates in Europe, a new study from the House of Commons Library shows. Average hourly pay rates have decreased by 5.5 percent in the last three years, making Britain the fourth-worst nation in Europe in terms of total wage decline.
The European Union has experienced a large-scale decline in wages over the past three years that’s affected almost all of the 27 EU nations. Germany was one of the few to escape the decline in wages, with the average hourly wage for Germans on the way up, increasing by 2.7 percent since mid-2010.
EU wages declined by 0.7 percent on the whole, with just three nations – Portugal, Greece and the Netherlands experiencing higher rates of wage decline than the UK. Countries such as Spain and Cyprus have experienced a decline in wages that isn’t quite as severe as UK wage decline, with drops of 3.3 and 3 percent, respectively.
Opponents of the government claim that the figures clearly indicate the increase in living costs that’s become more apparent in the last few years. Cathy Jamieson, the shadow Treasury minister, claims that the wage decline figures prove that ‘despite out-of-touch claims by ministers, life is getting harder for ordinary families.’
High-interest lending figures certainly support her argument, with a growing level of ‘dangerous debt’ amongst formerly solvent families growing into a serious issue for the nation. More British families are struggling with household bills and normal living costs than at any other point in the past decade, many analysts claim.
The government has struck back at its critics, claiming that by implementing its tax-free personal allowance threshold increase and freezing the fuel duty, it’s reduced living costs for a large number of British families. Supporters have also pointed to recent economic growth figures as evidence of an improving economy.
