Thread: Britain: Record fall in pay levels

Britain: Record fall in pay levels


by Julie Hyland
WSWS.org
2009-12-31


The Office of National Statistics has recorded the largest fall in wages in the United Kingdom since it began collecting data in 1995.

The ONS figures show that wages fell by 1.3 percent during July-September 2009 compared with the same period in 2008. The total paid out in earnings stood at £161.6 billion, down from £163.7 billion the previous year.

The data was released as it was confirmed that the UK remains the only G20 nation still in recession, with its economy having shrunk by 0.2 percent in the third quarter.

While the figures confirm the impact of the global economic downturn on Britain, they also form part of a broader and more long-term decline in UK competitiveness. According to an analysis of ONS figures by the Financial Times, in the first decade of the 21st Century, the UK recorded its lowest level of economic growth in the post war period. Gross Domestic Production rose on average annually by 1.7 percent in real terms, which was “Britain’s weakest period of economic expansion of any since the 1940s,â€

So is Parliament taking a salary cut, too?

Congress?

Comparison of Congress Salaries/Wages Earners 1800 to 2008
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-133413.html

"Effective January 1, 2001, the annual salary of the president of the United States was increased to $400,000 per year, including a $50,000 expense allowance. " From - http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-740761.html#740761