Friday, December 29, 2017

Gloomy prospects for wages

Britain is set to have the worst wage growth of any wealthy nation next year, ranking behind Italy, Greece and Hungary, according to analysis by the TUC.
The UK is forecast to come bottom from 32 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development wealthy nations for wage performance in 2018, according to the study of OECD figures.
British workers are expected to see their earnings decrease by 0.7% in 2018 when taking account of inflation, which has surged in the past year as a result of the pound’s weakness since the EU referendum, pushing up the cost of importing food and fuel.
 TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Real wages are still lower than they were when the financial crisis hit in 2008. And 2018 is set to be bleaker still.” O’Grady said that on current projections, average wages will not recover until 2025 – a full 17 years after the pay squeeze began.
 The Resolution Foundation said this week it expects real wages in Britain to stagnate throughout 2018. The thinktank forecast growth in earnings to be zero over the course of the year, meaning the pressure on living standards is set to continue.

Average weekly earnings have lagged behind inflation for eight months straight this year,.

No comments: