UK professionals working in the city of London are officially the poorest workers in Britain, despite earning the highest average salary in the UK.
Based on new roles advertised in Q3 2017, CV Library revealed that the average annual salary in London is £37,335; a slight dip on the same period in 2016 and just 15.7 per cent greater than the national average of £32,246 per year.
However, further research revealed that premium costs in the capital drastically outweigh the slightly higher-than-average salaries, meaning Londoners have the least disposable income in the country.
Comparing the same basic living costs against average salaries in 16 of the UK’s key cities revealed how employees in Scotland and North England remain the richest in the UK.
Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library , explains: “London continues to be an exciting city to live and work in. Attracting people of all ages and from all backgrounds, there are fantastic employment opportunities within the capital. That said, it’s very clear from our analysis that the majority of workers in London are in danger of being left high and dry after pay day, placing many in a compromising position.
“While salaries have fallen slightly year-on-year, living costs within the nation’s capital are clearly pushing people to breaking point and the government must work harder to address this. Otherwise, we could continue to see more people retreating from London, in search of areas which offer a better state of living.”
To delve even further, when comparing the purchase of a one-bed flat in London, to a similar one-bed flat in Glasgow, the difference is significant. Whilst the average cost of a one-bed flat in Glasgow is £75,413, the same flat in London would be £529,655; six times more expensive (602 per cent).
However, when comparing average salaries in both cities (£37,335 in London and £32,183 in Glasgow), Londoners only earn 16 per cent more than workers in Glasgow.
In real terms, a professional in Glasgow would spend 16.3 per cent of their salary on a mortgage for a one bed property and still have £1,347 left in their pocket to cover bills and other living expenses.
A Londoner would need 105 per cent of their salary to pay the mortgage alone, leaving them in debt before they have even considered how to cover bills and other basic costs.
Biggins concludes: “Wages and living expenses in London are not relative to the rest of the UK, making Londoners the poorest workers in Britain. While the government is taking steps to ensure that Londoners can afford to live, many job hunters and businesses are continuing to scrape the barrel in order to get by.”
Richest to poorest UK workers:
| Average monthly salary | Basic monthly costs | Remaining income | |
| Aberdeen | £2,247.06 | £1,074.08 | £1,173 |
| Glasgow | £2,097.01 | £1,024.25 | £1,073 |
| Hull | £1,885.81 | £820.80 | £1,065 |
| Sheffield | £1,979.48 | £1,002.47 | £977 |
| Cardiff | £2,010.08 | £1,044.68 | £965 |
| Birmingham | £2,038.42 | £1,082.95 | £955 |
| Liverpool | £1,948.49 | £1,029.76 | £919 |
| Portsmouth | £1,930.64 | £1,050.23 | £880 |
| Leeds | £1,955.23 | £1,077.09 | £878 |
| Southampton | £1,987.70 | £1,119.42 | £868 |
| Edinburgh | £1,995.46 | £1,133.60 | £862 |
| Bristol | £2,140.93 | £1,289.55 | £851 |
| Manchester | £1,976.25 | £1,142.99 | £833 |
| Exeter | £1,898.68 | £1,120.55 | £778 |
| Brighton | £1,958.12 | £1,341.80 | £616.32 |
| London | £2,388.96 | £2,193.78 | £195.18 |
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