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GMB study shows average earnings in South East have decreased since 2007

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A new study by GMB of official data shows that in the South East full-time workers mean gross annual pay in 2017 was just 87% of what it was in 2007. In 2007 the mean gross annual pay of full-time workers was £34,514. In 2017 that figure was £39,539, which when you factor in inflation at 31.7%, sees a decrease in pay of 13%.

Over the same period the decrease in earnings in the United Kingdom was 10.4%. In 2007 full-time workers mean gross annual pay in the UK was £30,015. By 2017 the figure was £35,423. After inflation, this is just 89.6% of what workers were earning in 2007.

The full-time workers gross annual pay in Elmbridge in 2017 was just 54.3% of what it was in 2007. This was the biggest decrease in the South East region. It was followed by South Oxfordshire at 73.1%, followed by Reigate and Banstead 75.3%, Mole Valley 76.5%, Sevenoaks 76.7%, Tunbridge Wells 78.8%, West Oxfordshire 79.9%, Surrey Heath 80.7%, Horsham 81.4%, and New Forest 81.7%. Hastings, Test Valley and Gosport were the only areas that saw an increase in earnings over the 10-year period.

The figures covering 61 councils in the South East area are set out in the table below, ranked by the highest percentage drop since 2007. This is from a new study by GMB Southern Region of official data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) for 61 councils in the South East area. It compares full-time workers mean gross annual pay in 2007 and 2017, followed by 2017 earnings as a percentage of 2007 earnings after inflation. [See notes to editors for sources and definitions.]

Annual survey of hours and earnings  – resident analysis
ONS Crown Copyright Reserved
RPI Inflation between April 2007 and April 2017b – 31.74
Full Time Workers, Mean gross annual pay

    2007 – full-time workers mean gross annual pay 2017 – full-time workers mean gross annual pay 2017 as % of 2007 including inflation of 31.7%
    £ £ %
  England 30,852 36,118 88.9
  Great Britain 30,229 35,608 89.4
  United Kingdom 30,015 35,423 89.6
  South East 34,514 39,539 87
         
rank        
1 Elmbridge 75,691 54,175 54.3
2 South Oxfordshire 44,695 43,015 73.1
3 Reigate and Banstead 43,623 43,285 75.3
4 Mole Valley 50,407 50,803 76.5
5 Sevenoaks 49,489 49,991 76.7
6 Tunbridge Wells 40,583 42,129 78.8
7 West Oxfordshire 33,375 35,135 79.9
8 Surrey Heath 44,521 47,317 80.7
9 Horsham 39,172 42,032 81.4
10 New Forest 33,099 35,635 81.7
11 Mid Sussex 37,641 40,567 81.8
12 Chichester 33,323 36,144 82.3
13 Bracknell Forest 36,723 39,881 82.4
14 Woking 41,712 45,300 82.4
15 Dover 27,809 30,389 82.9
16 Waverley 50,792 55,547 83
17 Crawley 29,402 32,159 83
18 Tandridge 40,390 44,257 83.2
19 Basingstoke and Deane 34,437 38,054 83.9
20 Shepway 29,515 32,920 84.7
21 Windsor and Maidenhead 44,027 49,552 85.4
22 Isle of Wight 26,071 29,480 85.8
23 Adur 24,492 27,993 86.8
24 Eastbourne 24,680 28,246 86.9
25 Wokingham 40,066 46,067 87.3
26 Portsmouth 25,577 29,426 87.3
27 West Berkshire 35,582 40,976 87.4
28 Lewes 30,542 35,182 87.4
29 Southampton 25,725 29,690 87.6
30 Milton Keynes 31,624 36,504 87.6
31 Gravesham 29,595 34,308 88
32 Maidstone 33,275 38,585 88
33 Aylesbury Vale 34,620 40,151 88
34 Wealden 33,428 38,812 88.1
35 Hart 41,006 48,040 88.9
36 Wycombe 37,754 44,419 89.3
37 Swale 27,241 32,148 89.6
38 Spelthorne 34,898 41,209 89.6
39 Arun 26,468 31,313 89.8
40 Guildford 40,555 48,090 90
41 Reading 31,464 37,400 90.2
42 Medway 27,719 33,139 90.7
43 Eastleigh 30,984 37,175 91.1
44 Vale of White Horse 34,736 41,865 91.5
45 Slough 26,938 32,506 91.6
46 Tonbridge and Malling 35,917 43,450 91.8
47 Brighton and Hove 30,481 37,385 93.1
48 Oxford 30,123 37,243 93.8
49 Rushmoor 29,463 36,518 94.1
50 Canterbury 29,600 36,763 94.3
51 Epsom and Ewell 40,664 50,509 94.3
52 Dartford 29,491 36,684 94.4
53 Fareham 30,171 37,561 94.5
54 East Hampshire 36,397 46,049 96
55 Worthing 26,691 33,871 96.3
56 Havant 27,563 35,676 98.2
57 Cherwell 28,417 36,875 98.5
58 Runnymede 33,073 43,080 98.9
59 Gosport 23,625 32,542 104.6
60 Test Valley 31,761 43,840 104.8
61 Hastings 20,500 28,660 106.1
         
  Ashford # 36,142 #
  Chiltern 46,061 # #
  Rother 37,671 # #
  South Bucks # # #
  Thanet # 28,451 #
  Winchester 35,433 # #

# These figures are suppressed as statistically unreliable.

Results for 2003 and earlier exclude supplementary surveys. In 2006 there were a number of methodological changes made. For further details go to: http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/articles/341.aspx.
Estimates for 2011 and subsequent years use a weighting scheme based on occupations which have been coded according to Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010 that replaced SOC 2000. Therefore care should be taken when making comparisons with earlier years.

Paul Maloney, GMB Regional Secretary said: “Across the South East region as a whole the real value of average wages for workers resident in the region in 2017 are only 87% of the buying power they had in 2007 when inflation is factored in as this latest study by GMB shows. Indeed residents in 24 of the 61 areas in the region that we received data for, fared much worse than this with residents in some areas very badly hit.

“Two conclusions can be drawn from the study. The first is that the impact on the living standards of ordinary workers of the bankers recession in 2008 onwards is still with us a decade later. Not a single person has been punished by a prison sentence for the recklessness and law breaking that has had catastrophic consequences as these figures show. The Panama Papers and the Paradise Papers show that tax evasion and tax avoidance are still going ahead undealt with on an industrial scale.

 “The second conclusion is that ordinary workers require substantial pay increases to make up the lost ground. These increases are needed to boost spending power to keep economic growth on track.”

Contact: Andy Prendergast 07984 492 726 or Michelle Gordon 07866 369 259 or GMB Press Office 07970 114 762

Notes to Editors:

1] Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics, Crown Copyright Reserved

2] The figures are annual Mean salary for all Full-time employees, residential based

3] ASHE is based on a 1% sample of employee jobs, drawn from HM Revenue and Customs Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records.

4] Inflation rate between April 2007 and April 2017 was 31.74%.