Workers have experienced a sharp drop in real wages as take-home pay failed to keep up with the highest inflation in 30 years.
Spending power fell by almost two percentage points as a 4 per cent growth in pay, excluding bonuses, in the three months to February was outstripped by inflation averaging 5.7 per cent. When bonuses are included, take-home pay fell by 0.3 per cent, eroded by rises in inflation.
Real pay, which is the value of earnings after accounting for the impact of inflation, is set to decline further as inflation, which reached 6.2 per cent in April, continues to rise.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, the official forecaster, warned in March that take-home pay this year would fall by the largest
