Although salaries in the UK increased by 6.3% in August year-on-year, as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports, a significant decline in real wages can be observed in sectors employing a large percentage of Polish immigrants. This situation is due to the fact that the increase remains well below the current level of inflation. 

The average salary in the UK in August was 2,117 pounds gross According to ONS estimates, the latter grew to 2,131 pounds in September, which represents an increase of 6.3%. 10% of the lowest-paid employees earned less than £695 a month, while 10% of the highest-paid earned over £5,022.

Poles are the largest group of immigrants from EU countries in the UK. ONS data from the summer of 2021 reveal that there are nearly 700,000 Polish citizens living in Great Britain. In total, about 2.4 EU citizens work in the UK and Poles constitute almost one-third of this group.

ONS also reports that 1 in 5 EU immigrants works in the administration and support services industry, 17% in trade, 15% in hotels and restaurants, 11.5% in health services, and 9% in the transport industry. 

In the administration and support services industry, wages went up by 5.3% percent year-on-year. Once inflation is taken into account, the PCI dropped in real terms by 4.2%. In retail trade, salaries increased by 7.5%, which corresponds to an overall drop of 2.2%. In the hotel and restaurant industry, wages grew by 5.1% percent, which means a real decrease of 4.4%. Wage growth was even slower in the health and social care sector, amounting to only 5%. Here the earnings dropped reached 4.5%. 

Image: Unsplash

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen