The VocaLink Take Home Pay Index showed that the rate of decline in public sector real take-home pay growth had slowed to -1.4% in the three months to the end of December 2013, up from -1.8% in the three months to the end of November.
However, it highlighted the hit workers had taken on their pay packets, with real net income down £23 a month compared with December 2012 and down £127 when compared with December 2009 figures.
In other sectors of the economy, take-home pay had picked up. Workers in FTSE 350 companies, for example, saw real wage growth of 0.3% year on year, reversing negative growth of -2.1% seen in the same period 12 months earlier.
Take-home pay growth was also positive in the services sector, albeit slowing slightly in the three months to the end of December 2013 – down to 0.5% from 0.6% in the three months to November.
Commenting on the figures, David Yates, chief executive officer at VocaLink, said: ‘Many are optimistic about growth prospects for the UK economy for 2014, however the latest VocaLink Take Home Pay Index reveals that this prosperity is yet to filter through to all workers’ monthly wages.
‘In fact, when taking into account inflation, thousands are worse off in comparison to salaries 12 months ago. The experiences of those in the public sector come in stark contrast to above-inflation wages increases in the services sector.’
VocaLink processes salary payments for 90% of the British workforce and produces a monthly index based on this data.
