By Tony Stevens, 5th March 2010
The recession is far from over for millions of British workers
who will not get a pay increase this year.
A report from price comparison and switching service,
uSwitch.com, reveals over 16 million workers do not expect a pay
rise in 2010.
And around 9 million workers who are getting a pay rise can
expect a meagre 1.9% increase.
A 1.9% increase falls short of the consumer price index (CPI) of
3.5%, and would give workers a net monthly gain of just £27.
Among those expecting the lowest increases are Nurses, civil
servants and teachers. Unsurprisingly bankers and lawyers will be
the best off.
The lack of a substantial pay increase and rising living costs
has a third of workers convinced they will be worse off this year
than last year.
Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch, Ann Robinson, said "The
Government is going to have a hard time persuading people that
things are on the up when over half the workforce is witnessing a
zero per cent pay rise."
"This will do nothing to improve consumer confidence - a key
factor if the economy is to claw its way out of recession."
With inflation spiking 3.5% in January and the cost of living
rising at nearly double the rate of salaries, millions of workers
are barely making ends meet.
Roughly 5.4 million workers are living beyond their means, with
nearly half using overdrafts to fund their lifestyle and a third
relying on credit cards to pull them through.
Ms. Robinson warns against debt solutions, saying
"short-term debt solutions may seem an efficient way to fund
spending, but they can lead to severe long-term debt issues if not
managed properly
"Consumers need to start paying serious attention to their
spending habits."
A further 13 million workers barely manage to break even at the
end of the month.
Claims Financial