Workers £44 a week poorer thanks to inflation

Workers in Staffordshire are up to £2,288 a year worse off in real terms while people in the Black Country are between £26 and £36 a week poorer.

The figures, from the Office of National Statistics, have been seized upon by the GMB trade union which said soaring fuel prices and food costs in supermarkets had been outstripping pay increases, leading to a cut in living standards.

Three years ago the average weekly wage in the West Midlands was £469 and since then it has stayed the same.

Nationally the minimum wage is set to rise 12p an hour to £6.31 from October under plans announced by business secretary Vince Cable.

However, the GMB said that to cope with inflation the average wage would need to be £507 a week, meaning people are on average £38 a week or £1,976 a year worse off.

Staffordshire has been the hardest hit.

In 2010 the average wage was £495 but it has actually fallen by £4. Coupled with inflation people are now £44 a week worse off.

In Dudley wages went up from an average £451 a week to £455 over two years but inflation means people are £1,664 a year worse off.

In Sandwell wages rose from £418 to £425 but people are £1,352 a year worse off on average.

Walsall people are £1,924 a year on average worse off due to inflation and a cut in wages from £424 to £419.

Wolverhampton saw wages rise from £424 a week to £431 but inflation wiped out the improvement and left people £27 a week or £1,404 a year worse off.

The cuts has been calculated taking into account wage increases and inflation.

Political officer for the GMB union Stephanie Peacock accused the Government of not doing enough to stimulate growth.

She said: "Families are suffering more than in many parts of the country because of the Government's out of touch policies. Recent Government figures show that manufacturing industry remained in recession in the last three months. This is hurting local families.

"Rising fuel prices, rip-off energy companies, frozen wages and expensive prices at the supermarket have left many local families desperate. No wonder one of the biggest growth businesses in our area has been the food bank.

"There is plenty the government can do to make life easier in these difficult days. They can tackle the rip-off energy companies where we have seen executive pay rocket whilst customers suffer.

"They could have a strategy for jobs and growth – a VAT cut to get construction workers back on site and in jobs, for example."