Cost of living crisis: Merseyside wages - all but one council borough sees real term pay cuts

Across the UK, real terms wages have fallen again, while strike action across a range of industries is due to take place every day until the end of the year.

The Trades Union Congress said working people "have been pushed to breaking point" and urged the Government to engage in meaningful pay talks with unions.

The Consumer Prices Index inflation accounting for owner occupier’s housing costs (CPIH) – which the ONS uses to calculate real-terms pay – sat at 9.6% in the year to October, the highest since records began in 1989. It means that people’s pay packets are not going as far as they used to, despite salary rises.

Merseyside wages

Office for National Statistics figures shows the monthly median pay for employees across Merseyside.

Sefton: £2,029 median pay in November – up from £2,018 the month before. Monthly pay in the area has risen by 8% in the last year - below inflation.

Wirral: £2,059 median pay in November – up from £2,046 the month before. Monthly pay in the area has risen by 8% in the last year - below inflation.

Liverpool: £2,024 median pay in November – up from £2,001 the month before. Monthly pay in the area has risen by 9% in the last year - below inflation.

Knowsley: £2,051 median pay in November – up from £2,028 the month before. Monthly pay in the area has risen by 9% in the last year - below inflation.

St Helens: £2,159 median pay in November – up from £2,109 the month before. Monthly pay in the area has risen by 10% in the last year - above inflation.

Real term pay cuts and strike action

Across the UK, real-terms pay between August and October fell by 2.7% compared to the same period the year before – slightly above the record 3% drop seen between April and June.

Ben Harrison, director at the Work Foundation, said workers face "stark challenges" because of inflationary pressures on their pay packets and are being forced to make difficult decisions, including whether to turn the heating on as freezing temperatures bite.

The ONS figures also show strike action led to 417,000 days of work being lost in October across the UK – the highest level in a decade.

The planned strikes in December and January include many public sector employees, such as teachers, ambulance staff, and nurses, while firefighters and fire control staff are also voting on strike action.

The ONS data revealed a widening gap between private and public sector pay across the country, growing by 6.9% and 2.7% respectively – among the biggest differences seen on record.

What has been said?

Frances O'Grady, general secretary at the Trades Union Congress, said ministers must increase pay packets immediately, starting with a pay rise for public sector workers to match the cost of living.

Ms O'Grady said: "The Prime Minister should stop attacking working people trying to defend their pay, and sit down to negotiate fair pay rises with unions.

"For too long, ministers have been stonewalling negotiations and hiding behind pay review bodies. They are more interested in playing political football with disputes than resolving them."

Meanwhile, unemployment continued to gradually rise after reaching its lowest point since 1974 earlier this year.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said high inflation and Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine continue "to plague economies around the world".

Mr Hunt said: "To get the British economy back on track, we have a plan which will help to more than halve inflation next year – but that requires some difficult decisions now.

"Any action that risks embedding high prices into our economy will only prolong the pain for everyone, and stunt any prospect of long-term economic growth.

"We are committed to helping people back into work, and helping those in employment to raise their incomes, progress in work, and become financially independent."