UK joins Greece at bottom of wage growth league

As if it was suspected, between 2007 and 2015 in the UK, real wages fell by 10.4%, the joint lowest in OECD countries.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jul/27/uk-joins-greece-at-bottom-of-wage-growth-league-tuc-oecd

Without wishing to delve too much into proving a point.But methinks that this country has been in wage reduction for over 30 years.

As if it was suspected, between 2007 and 2015 in the UK, real wages fell by 10.4%, the joint lowest in OECD countries.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jul/27/uk-joins-greece-at-bottom-of-wage-growth-league-tuc-oecd

How much of that reduction came in the period 2007-2010?

And yet at the same time, top earners have seen their already exorbitant wages rocket to unprecedented heights....

No mention of this report was made on the BBC news at 1. However on the local news broadcast straight afterwards, there was a report which showed that the Yorkshire and Humber region had the lowest wage growth rates out of all the region in England.

As if it was suspected, between 2007 and 2015 in the UK, real wages fell by 10.4%, the joint lowest in OECD countries.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/jul/27/uk-joins-greece-at-bottom-of-wage-growth-league-tuc-oecd

From the actual report:

As in past recessions, the Great Recession was associated with slower wage growth. The surge in unemployment during the crisis was followed by falling wages in particularly hard hit countries such as Greece, Ireland, Japan, Portugal, Spain and the Baltic States, but wages stagnated or barely grew almost everywhere.

Real wage growth also slowed following the crisis, although somewhat less so than nominal wage growth due to falling price inflation. Comparing real wage growth during 2000-07 with that during 2008-15 suggests a sharp deceleration in some countries, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and the United Kingdom. By 2015 real hourly wages in these countries were more than 25% below where they would have been if wage growth had continued at the rate observed during 2000-07, and this wage gap exceeded 20% in Greece, Hungary and Ireland.

The actual OECD data doesn't contain any reference to 10.4% and as the Guardian states that's a figure provided by the TUC so I'm none the wiser how they worked in out. The OECD data clearly points to a slowing of wage growth than compared to 2000-07 but it doesn't state a reduction in real wage growth.

If anyone really fancies looking at the data..

http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/employment/oecd-employment-outlook-2016_empl_outlook-2016-en

Edit: more digging reveals:

https://www.tuc.org.uk/economic-issues/labour-market/uk-workers-experienced-sharpest-wage-fall-any-leading-economy-tuc

'The TUC calculated the changes in employment and real wages using OECD data released in their 2016 Employment Outlook. The data are related to figures 1.2 and 1.6. The OECD derive real wages from national accounts, dividing total wages by hours worked and putting into real terms with the household consumption deflator. These can differ from those based on average weekly earnings and CPI inflation used in the UK.'

Figure 1.6 is here:

http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/employment/oecd-employment-outlook-2016_empl_outlook-2016-en#page33

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888933384391

The graph shows real wage growth for the UK for the following periods:

2000-07 2.46%

2007-09 -3.6%

2009-12 -1.41%

2012-15 -0.35%

So I still don't know where the TUC got 10.4% less than 2007 from

From the actual report:

 

As in past recessions, the Great Recession was associated with slower wage growth.

'The Great recession' Sounds as if it's a thing of the past. For a lot of people it's never ended and probably never will. Austerity is here to stay. I can't see them replacing the services that have been cut.

Bank interest rates have never recovered either, and now they are sliding into negative interest, so we will all have to start paying them to keep money in their banks...

Not stopped them giving out massive bankers bonuses though.

And don't forget independent bodies awarding our lovely MP's an 11% pay rise.