Millions Struggle As Cost Of Living Crisis Hits Wages

MILLIONS of people are worse off as pay packets fail to keep up with inflation and the cost of living crisis intensifies.

- Sam Lister

• 0.8% the amount pay has fallen by in a year
• 7% Predicted figure for the UK’s inflation rate this April

Another 108,000 staff joined payrolls between December and January and wages rose, but once inflation was taken into account pay actually fell by 0.8 per cent in a year, said the Office for National Statistics.

Unemployment dipped by 0.2 per cent to 4.1 per cent in the three months to December as employment eased up 0.1 per cent to 75.5 per cent.

Pay growth rose to 4.3 per cent in three months to December from 4.2 per cent for the quarter to November.

Wages for payroll workers went up by an average 6.3 per cent in January against the same month last year and 10.3 per cent compared with February 2020.

Rises outstripped inflation in some sectors with high demand for staff, such as finance, insurance, communication and hotels.

But wages overall continued to lag behind inflation which soared to a near 30-year high of 5.4 per cent in December.