Scots £15,000 a year poorer due to flatlining wages, research finds

Flatlining wages mean Scots are now £15,000 a year poorer than they should be, research has found.

According to analysis by the Future Economy Scotland think tank, workers would be £297 a week richer if wages had continued to grow “as normal” after 2007/08 financial crisis.

Real average weekly earnings in 2024 were just £8 higher than they were in 2008, the researchers said – the equivalent to an increase of just 1% over the past 16 years.

If earnings had continued to grow at the pre-crisis rate of 2.2%, Future Economy Scotland – which analysed figures from the ONS – said that would be the equivalent of £15,000 a year.

The average full-time salary in Scotland in 2024 was £38,464, meaning the same worker would now be paid £53,923 had salaries risen as expected.

Laurie Macfarlane, co-director of the think tank, said wage growth in Scotland is historically low.

“Never in modern times have Scots seen their earnings grow so little over a 16-year period,” he said.

“Our analysis shows that if wages had instead grown as normal since 2008, the average full-time worker would be over £15,000 a year better off.”

Mr Macfarlane said for many households, this meant the difference between economic security and “living on the breadline”.

He went on: “Although real earnings are now rising slowly again, the damage inflicted by disastrous austerity and runaway inflation cannot be undone.

“Rather than scapegoating migrants for the country’s economic failures, the debate must focus on the real culprit: a broken economic model.

“As we enter an election year, there is an urgent need for political parties to embrace bold new ideas to transform the economy.

“Scotland simply can’t afford yet another five years of economic failure.”