Falling wages cost regions billions

The TUC said the UK’s pay packet was £52bn smaller last year compared to the eve of the recession in 2007, with some regions suffering 10 per cent losses.

The union organisation said a fall in the real value of wages, reduced hours and more part-time working, had caused the reduction.

The North West has been hit by the biggest cut in pay between 2007 and last year – a fall of over 10 per cent – followed by the South West, West Midlands and Scotland, said the report.

A modest increase in employment had failed to offset a “sharp” cut in wages in recent years, said the TUC.