A NEW study has placed Reading as the UK area with the biggest wage lag compared to inflation rates.
Business credit card providers Capital on Tap have examined the disparity between wage growth and inflation in towns and cities across the UK.
The study compared the average wage across UK cities against the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate.
This highlights where real earnings are falling furthest behind and which regions are facing the greatest financial strain.
Reading was determined to have the lowest real wage growth in the country at -14%.
Wages in Reading have grown by just over 18.2% between 2014 and last year, which when adjusted for the inflation level of just under 37%, represents a real-terms shrink of 13.6%.
Southend-on-Sea placed second, with a shrink of over 12%; followed by London, at -9%; Leeds, at -5.5%; Bristol, at -4.55%; and Birkenhead, at -1.86%.
Manchester was the last in the list with negative growth, placing 7th with just above -2%.
The study also examined the average wage growth of countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The UK ranked 24th in the list for real-terms wage growth, with a national average growth of just under 2.5%.
Latvia topped the list for real wage growth, with 53.75% growth, followed by Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia in the top five respectively.
Captial on Tap provides business credit cards, including virtual and travel cards, as well as expense management and other services to businesses.
More information is available via: capitalontap.com
