VocaLink Take Home Pay Index starts on road to recovery following all-time low

Thursday, April 08, 2010
  • The VocaLink Take Home Pay Index recovers from its lowest level on record of 1.0 per cent in February to reach 1.5 per cent in March
  • A strong rebound in manufacturing sector pay growth takes the VocaLink manufacturing index to 1.3 per cent in March from 0.4 per cent in February
  • Services sector pay growth records a more modest improvement in March as the VocaLink services index rises to 1.5 per cent from 1.3 per cent in February

London, 8 April 2010: The VocaLink Take Home Pay Index for March has recovered from its all-time low in February to record a rise of 0.5 percentage points, bringing the index to 1.5 per cent. The rise has been significantly aided by a strong rebound in manufacturing sector pay growth which increased by 0.9 percentage points in March. However, even though the economic recovery is underway, there is still significant spare capacity in the economy. As a result, since March last year, the VocaLink Take Home Pay Index has stabilised between a 1.0 per cent and 2.0 per cent range, which is significantly lower than the 4.0 per cent pre-recession average.

As regards to manufacturing, the VocaLink index rebounded sharply in March to 1.3 per cent from its record low level of 0.4 per cent in February. This index now stands at the average level experienced in 2009, though still significantly lower than the 3.2 per cent average level of 2008. Much of this recent improvement in the manufacturing sector is due to the turning inventory cycle, which is expected to provide a boost to overall economic growth in the first quarter of this year. However, it is unclear whether this rise in manufacturing output will be temporary or sustained.

Meanwhile, the VocaLink services index edged up by 0.2 percentage points to 1.5 per cent in March. Despite being above the VocaLink manufacturing index, the services index remains a full two percentage points below its average level over the past five years of 3.5 per cent. The main reason for this relative underperformance is the excess capacity in the economy.

Marion King, Chief Executive Officer at VocaLink, said: "Arguably, UK employers are using wages, instead of employment, to control costs much more so than in the past. As a result, wage growth remains at a structurally lower level; this trend is set to continue throughout 2010 as employers put off making long-term decisions around raising employment and/or wages."

Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of economics consultancy cebr, said: "While the rise in March's VocaLink Take Home Pay Index is a large move relative to the level of the index, it acts to merely take the index to the midpoint of the 1.0 per cent to 2.0 per cent range that it has been fluctuating in since March 2009. It is clear that wage growth will continue to remain at historically depressed levels until upward pressures emerge from significant rises in employment."

VocaLink processes over 90% of UK salaries and the VocaLink Take Home Pay Index, established in 2004, provides the most timely and accurate disposable income data available in the UK. It is based on actual payments made to employees on a three-month moving average compared with the same
continuation measure a year earlier. It is affected by changes in tax rates, National Insurance and other employer payments or deductions.