Friday 11 October 2013

Regional pay discrepancies

A report by Policy Exchange (which has links to the Conservative Party) is featured in the Western Mail and (with map) in The Independent this morning. The think-tank's recommendation is that because public sector pay is higher than that in the private sector outside London, the West Midlands and the East of England, the former should be cut. Perhaps a more positive recommendation is that private business should relocate from the overheated South-East to parts of the country where personnel are available at more sensible wages.

What struck me about the graphic was that the discrepancy in Wales was shown as just under 4% (as against 14% for South-West England and for Merseyside). I can only assume that Airbus in the north and the financial industry in Cardiff are skewing the figures. A more fine-grained analysis would surely show a two-digit discrepancy in West Wales at least.

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