Lower earners 'have suffered over last 30 years'

29/05/2009

The financial and social prospects of middle-income Britons remain too limited, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said in a major new report released today.

According to the study, which looked over how things had changed for the group over the last 30 years through a poll conducted by YouGov, people on lower incomes suffer markedly compared with people earning more.

"Middle income" Brits were found to be less likely to have gone to university or have a decent pension - and "much less likely" to have "decent" savings - compared with people who earn slightly more.

This in turn makes the group more at risk of falling into debt or using credit to make ends meet.

"The last 30 years has seen a steady rise in the gap in earnings between the top and the bottom, together with a 'hollowing out of the middle' - a loss of jobs paying middling wages and the concentration of employment in high and low paying jobs," the TUC said in its report.

"There has been a steady fall in the share of national output taken by wages, especially amongst wage-earners in the bottom half of the distribution."

The average annual salary in the UK stands at just over £20,000.

Tags; Income Worries and Debt, Young Family Finances,

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