Lancashire workers see their pay lag behind inflation by the biggest gap since records began, official figures show

Lancashire workers saw their pay lag behind inflation at record levels over the past quarter, according to official figures.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The Office for National Statistics said regular pay, excluding bonuses, grew by 4.7 per cent nationally over the three months to June.

Analysts had predicted that wages would increase by 4.5 per cent.

But the figures come after CPI inflation hit a 40-year record of 9.4 per cent in June. This resulted in a 4.1 per cent drop in regular pay - the biggest slump since records began in 2001.

Lancashire workers have seen their pay lag further behind inflation according to official figures in AugustLancashire workers have seen their pay lag further behind inflation according to official figures in August
Lancashire workers have seen their pay lag further behind inflation according to official figures in August
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Official figures also showed the number of workers on payrolls rose by 73,000 between June and July to 29.7 million.

Read More
Lancashire built jets set to patrol over this year’s World Cup as BAE Systems’ s...

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased to 3.8 per cent for the quarter compared with 3.7 per cent for the previous period.

ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: “The number of people in work grew in the second quarter of 2022, whilst the headline rates of unemployment and of people neither working nor looking for a job were little changed.

“Meanwhile, the total number of hours worked each week appears to have stabilised very slightly below pre-pandemic levels.

“Redundancies are still at very low levels.

“However, although the number of job vacancies remains historically very high, it fell for the first time since the summer of 2020.”

Vacancy numbers hit 1.274 million over the three months from May to July, slipping by 19,800 in the first signal the UK’s hot labour market could be cooling.

In Lancashire the number of people in July claiming work related benefits such as Universal Credit, due to low pay or low hours, fell marginally.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency had 2,655 people claiming, down 2.2 per cent on July 2021.

Blackpool South had 3,770 claimants, down 3 per cent on last year, Preston had 3,620, down 1.8 per cent, while Chorley had 1,765, down 1.1 per cent.

Fylde had 1,380 claiming, down 1.2 per cent, Lancaster and Fleetwood had 1,730, down 1.3 per cent, Ribble Valley had 1,250, down 0.8 per cent, South Ribble had 1,230, down 0.9 per cent and Wyre and Preston North had 905, down 0.9 per cent.

Commenting on the ONS Labour Market statistics, BCC Head of People Policy, Jane Gratton, said: “The labour market remains incredibly tight adding to the growing list of concerns businesses are facing. This is a ticking timebomb for firms up and down the country.

“Today’s figures show little improvement for employers over the last quarter. Despite the small increase in employment levels, the number of job vacancies in the economy remains around the highest on record. Competition for skills and labour continues to drive up wage costs.

“Skills and labour shortages have reached crisis point for many firms.

"The impact is being felt on their ability to meet customer demand and forcing some to turn away new business, because they simply do not have the human resource. This is restricting growth and business confidence. It’s a serious and urgent problem.

“On top of all of this, firms are now grappling with the highest inflation in almost 40 years; the largest spike in interest rates in three decades; ongoing supply chain disruption; and eye watering energy bills. There is a limit to how much additional cost business can absorb."

Jonathan Boys, labour market economist for the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, said: “Regular pay growth was 4.7 per cent in the year to April-June 2022. This is relatively high by recent standards but falls well short of the rise in prices. Inflation currently stands at 9.4 per cent in the 12 months to June 2022.”