The pay gap between workers in the public sector and those in the private sector has widened, statistics show.<\/p>\n
Public sector employees were paid 7.8% more on average than private sector staff in April 2010, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.<\/p>\n
This was a bigger gap than the 5.3% difference in 2007, the figures show.<\/p>\n
Other benefits such as bonuses and pensions could alter the gap. The ONS added that many lower skilled jobs had been outsourced to the private sector.<\/p>\n
Other factors that could account for commanding higher pay were the average age of public sector workers, and their qualifications.<\/p>\n
The statistics are likely to feed into the debate and dispute over public sector pensions, which led to a walk-out by teachers and some other public sector workers last week.<\/p>\n
Timing<\/p>\n
The analysis is drawn from two pieces of research from the ONS about pay and the UK workforce.<\/p>\n
Simon Gompertz Personal finance correspondent, BBC News<\/p>\n
Critics of the public sector will be grinding their teeth at the sight of the pay gap widening even further.<\/p>\n
This is extra ammunition for those calling for cuts and lower pensions.<\/p>\n
However, the bald figures come with a health warning.<\/p>\n
After years of contracting out, staff are more likely to be teachers or nurses than cleaners and caterers and many more have degrees.<\/p>\n
Statisticians have to try to adjust for that.<\/p>\n
Plus, they warn that most private sector bonuses and perks are not counted and nor are self-employed lawyers, businessmen and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
It does not include some factors that could influence people’s remuneration and standard of living, such as pension contributions, company cars and health insurance.<\/p>\n
The timing of the research, related to April, meant that payments made in the bonus season of January to March were ignored – as were the earnings of the self-employed.<\/p>\n
Key to the difference in pay was the higher proportion of higher-paid jobs in the public sector, the ONS said.<\/p>\n
Over the past 10 years, the trend for low-skilled jobs to be outsourced to the private sector has continued, pushing up the average wage among public sector workers.<\/p>\n
The public sector also employed a larger proportion of older workers, whose pay has increased over time.<\/p>\n
In 2010, some 38% of workers had a degree or equivalent qualification in the public sector, compared with 23% in the private sector.<\/p>\n
Comparing the pay of these graduates flips the pay gap around, with public sector workers earning 5.7% less than those in the private sector.<\/p>\n
Within the two sectors, the gap between the highest earners – in the top 5% – and the lowest 5% of earners is greater in the private sector than in the public sector.<\/p>\n
“What the figures show is that the public sector is fairer than the private sector,” said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.<\/p>\n
“Public sector high-flyers are paid 6% less than those at the top of the private sector, while those in less skilled jobs on lower pay earn 6% more in the public sector.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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