The gap between average earnings in the public and private sectors has increased since April 2007, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Its article, Public and private sector earnings: Estimating differences in public and private sector pay, found that in April 2010, public sector employees were paid on average 7.8% more than private sector employees.
This is an increase of 2.5% since 2007, when the pay difference was estimated at 5.3%.
The article uses data collected in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and the Labour Force Survey by the ONS, and found that when comparing employees who have a degree or equivalent qualification, on average in 2010 those in the public sector earned around 5.7% less than those in the private sector.
The analysis also found that the gap between the lowest and highest earners is higher in the private sector with the top 5% of earners paid around 5.6 times more than the bottom 5%. The gap is 4.6 times in the public sector.
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