Worcester’s MP who has consistently campaigned for higher minimum wages and increases in the income tax threshold has welcomed data from the ONS which shows that gross weekly pay for people who live and work in Worcester is now higher than the GB average for the first time on record. Sharp rises in each of the last two years have taken Worcester from a place where it was below the national and West Midlands average to one where it ended last year above both.
Whilst the data suggests that this has happened before in 2006 and 2016 in the case of people who live in the city, 2022 is the first time ever that both the published measures – for residentsof Worcester and workers in Worcester - show Worcester ahead.
In 2010 the average gross weekly pay for people living in the city was £483.70, rising to £532.60 by 2020 but then increasing at a faster rate to £570.30 in 2021 and £655.40 last year.
Similarly the 2010 figure for people who work in Worcester was £470.40 rising to £532.60 in 2020, £570.30 in 2021 and £655.40 in 2022. The equivalent GB averages were £500.30 in 2010 and £642 in 2022. Changes to the thresholds for both income tax and national insurance mean that signficantlymore of this pay is kept by those who earn it.
The net effect of all this is that gross weekly pay is now 33% higher than when Robin Walker became MP for Worcester for people who live in the city and 39% for people who work there compared to an increase of closer to 28% on both measures nationwide. Gross pay in Worcester rose by more than 10% from 2020 to 2021 and nearly 11% from 2021 to 2022, significantly larger increases that either the national or West Midlands average.
Speaking about the data, Worester’s MP said
“I know that the cost of living a challenge for everyone at the moment and I want to ensure that work always pays. That is why I have always supported increases to the national living wage and in the income tax threshold. I want to support local businesses to pay more and that is why I have campaigned for investment in apprenticeships, reform of business rates and a business friendly environment in Worcester. I am glad to see that these campaigns have made a difference and that pay has been rising faster here than elsewhere.”
“There is more to do to ensure that we can sustain this trend but the fact that Worcester has overtaken the national average on pay both for the people who live here and the people who work here should be welcomed. Along with the Government’s determination to curb inflation and higher employment than when I was first elected, these trends show that Worcester can be a more prosperous place.”
“According to the figures for people who live in Worcester, it took a decade from 2002 for gross pay to rise by £100 or just under 30% but in the decade since 2012 it has risen by £144or around a third. Put another way looking at the figures since 2010, wages in Worcester have grown by over a thirdcompared to a national average of 28%. Far from the narrative that our opponents like to paint, this shows that pay has been rising faster during my time as MP than it did under Labour. For all the challenges we have faced with the pandemic and then the spike in energy prices and inflation, this means that Worcester is better placed to weather the storm.”
Data from Labour Market Profile - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)
Data from Labour Market Profile - Nomis - Official Census and Labour Market Statistics (nomisweb.co.uk)