And we're all richer... but by less than 1%

Wednesday 26 August 2015

Islanders are slightly better off than they were 12 months ago, according to stats out today.

But the report also shows that there has been almost no improvement in buying power over the last 14 years – almost all of the increases in pay have been swallowed up by inflation since 2001.

Average earnings in the private sector have risen just 1% since 2001, when you account for inflation, and in the public sector, inflation-adjusted earnings have actually dropped by 3%.

The report also shows the difference in annual earnings across different sectors in the Island economy for full-time workers:

- Financial services - £54,600.

- Public Sector - £46,800.

- Construction - £33,800.

- Wholesale/retail - £24,960.

- Agriculture - £21,840.

- Hotels, restaurants and bars - £19,760.

Acting-Chief Minister Andrew Green, who is filling in during Senator Ian Gorst's holiday, said that the slight shift in real-terms pay over the last 14 years was not hugely surprising - but he welcomed the recent increase.

He said: "The long-term figures are not entirely surprising given the depth of the recession that we have been through.

"The most recent figures show that wages have increased slightly above inflation, which means that people have got more money in their pockets."