UK employees will have to wait another nine years to get back to the level of income they enjoyed in 2009, during which time they will have lost an average of £8,500 in real-term wage losses, according to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The research, which tracked wage and inflation data between 2009 and 2012, as well as forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), found that workers are just a quarter of the way through the UK’s 12-year wage dive.
The TUC calculated that, based on current OBR forecasts, workers will have to wait until 2021 to get back to the level of income they had in 2009.
Brendan Barber, general secretary at TUC, said: “The dire state of the economy has pushed down wages. Workers today are on average nearly £1,600 poorer than they were three years ago.
“Even when wages start to pick up again, it will take years to undo the damage wreaked by austerity and high inflation. Unless things change, the UK’s 12-year wage dive will continue until 2021 and cost the average worker around £8,500.”