Real pay remains below pre-financial crisis wage levels for private and public sector employees, according to findings from the VocaLink Take Home Pay Index.
Public sector workers have seen their wages fall in the three months to the end of March 2014 both in comparison to the same period a year ago and in 2008. Government employees were £15.39 and £127.31 respectively worse off.
This is despite FTSE 350 workers being £21.73 per month better off on average in the three months to the end of March 2014, compared to the same period last year. But even these members of staff are worse off than pre-crash levels, with the average employee £113.38 per month worse off compared to 2008.
‘The latest VocaLink data shows there is a lot of catching up to do after years of weak income growth,’ said David Yates, chief executive officer at VocaLink. ‘Real pay remains down on early 2008 levels in both the private and public sectors.’
Real take home pay in the public sector is 1% lower than a year ago. This compares to a 1.4% rise in the FTSE 350 index.