DROP THE WAGE
WE’RE EARNING £39 A WEEK LESS IN REAL TERMS THAN WE WERE IN 2010
AVERAGE wages have fallen in real terms since 2010 - and men in their 30s have taken the biggest cut. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that the average full time employee was earning £569 a week in 2018.
While that’s up from £499 a week in 2010, it’s actually a drop once inflation is taken into account.
In today’s money, £499 in 2010 would actually be worth around £608 meaning
that average earnings have fallen in real terms by 6% in the last eight years.
That’s a drop of £39 a week - or more than £2,000 a year.
And while most people across the country will have felt the squeeze, some groups have been hit harder than others.
Men aged 30 to 39 have seen the most significant cut in average earnings, with the typical wage falling from £698 a week in 2010 (after inflation) to £630 this year.
The 10% real-terms pay cut sees men in this age group losing out on £68 a week, or more than £3,500 a year.
In comparison, women in the same age group have seen average wages drop by around £45 a week, or closer to £2,300 annually.
The average weekly wage for women aged 30-39 was the equivalent of £620 a week in 2010, and this has fallen by 7% to £575 a week this year.
Meanwhile, women aged 40-49 have seen the smallest cut in average earnings over the last eight years.
Average weekly wages for women in this age group have dropped by less than 1%, from £575 in 2010 to £571 in 2018.
In general, women have seen average wages fall less steeply than men, although this is largely because women were earning less in the first place.
And even though the gender wage gap is gradually shrinking, women across all age groups continue to earn less than their male counterparts.
Across all full time employees, men earn 20% more than women, with the average man’s weekly wage coming in at £609 in 2018 compared to £509 for the average woman’s.
The gap is most pronounced for those aged 50-59 - women in this age group earn £515 a week on average, while men earn 30% more at £667.
This is more complex than men and women not being paid the same in likefor-like jobs, although this does sometimes happen.
Men are more likely to be employed in occupations that pay better, and to be in better-paid positions within the same industry.