ClickAJob News

The gap between London salaries and paycheques earned elsewhere in the UK is growing, it has been suggested.

According to Dave Martin, managing director of Allthetopbananas.com, workers in London earn an average of £11,000 more a year than other employees in the UK.

"London jobs naturally carry a weighting, but we are consistently seeing the gap between the capital and the rest of the country widen month after month," he said.

"We could well see a £12,000 advertised difference by the start of next year," he added.

Figures released by Allthetopbananas.com showed that the average advertised salary in London is £41,079, compared to employees in the rest of the UK who take home £29,991 a year.

Job advertisements in the north-west of England offered the lowest average amount of £28,641.

The cost of higher living expenses in London means that workers such as police officers, teachers and civil servants are paid between £3,000 and £4,000 more than their counterparts in the rest of the country.

However ClickAJob marketing manager Anders Jensen is sceptical that London salaries are higher because of living costs.

"The tightening talent shortage is a much likelier cause," he asserts.

"Depending on your criteria, as much as two-thirds of all jobs are based in the London area," he points out.

"Population pressure alone makes filling these jobs more difficult - there just aren't enough suitable workers to fill vacancies crammed into the London catchment area - exacerbated further by the ever-present skills deficit," he continues.

"Employers compensate the only way they can, with their chequebooks - it's either that or lose out on hiring suitable staff."