Mansfield wages drop by 15 per cent in 10 years

Wages in Mansfield dropped by 15 per cent in 10 years according to figures complied by the TUC.
Mansfield wages drop by 15 per cent in 10 yearsMansfield wages drop by 15 per cent in 10 years
Mansfield wages drop by 15 per cent in 10 years

The figures were compiled by the TUC as part of the Mirror's Town 2020 series

According to the study, the average weekly wage in 2008 was £379, but in 2018 that figure had slumped to £322 - meaning some workers were earning about £3,000 less a year.

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Workers in Mansfield were already earning £84 below the national weekly average in 2008.

Mansfield wages drop by 15 per cent in 10 yearsMansfield wages drop by 15 per cent in 10 years
Mansfield wages drop by 15 per cent in 10 years

Ten years on that figure has jumped to £123.

This means workers pocketing around £6,400 less than the UK average.

Martin Lee, chairman of the Mansfield Labour Party told The Mirror that the town's current fortunes cannot be separated from the industrial collapse of the late 20th Century.

"Mansfield's economy until the early 1990s was very much buoyed up by the mining and hosier industry," he said.

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"Of course we lost all of that due to the Conservative government closing down the pits. As a town we haven't recovered from that fundamental blow.

"There hasn't been an influx of investors and new employers."

Councillor Sonya Ward. Mansfield Labour's prospective parliamentary candidate and district councillor for the Bull Farm and Pleasley Hill Ward said that a programme of investment to grow industry was needed.

Coun Ward: "Mansfield was once a thriving district but now workers here earn around £6,400 less than workers across the country. The economic conditions which have lead to this decline cannot be reversed by this Conservative governments continued austerity drive.

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"A programme of real investment to grow industry and to support good quality employment is needed.

"The Labour Party is the only party looking to properly address this with an industrial strategy that will focus on areas like Mansfield, and a rebalancing of the economy to bring back jobs and improve the quality of life for workers in Mansfield.

"We’ve recently run the School’s Out Project, supporting families who are struggling to meet the cost of food and uniform during the summer holidays, when free schools meals aren’t available. We know that in Mansfield this issue impacts on up to 6000 families, and we also know that around 2/3 of children who are living below the poverty line are from working families. "This is the reality of in-work poverty, and it’s the sad end result of wages not meeting the cost of living.

Ben Bradley, Mansfield's Conservative MP: "We know, and figures have shown for a long time, that our towns in the Midlands and the North have missed out on investment.

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"That's not just a recent phenomenon, its been happening for a long time.

"I'm pleased that finally we have a Government that recognises that, after I've been making the point ever since I was elected, and we're seeing new Town Deals to support areas like Mansfield, new commitments to regional transport infrastructure and broadband; all things that can help to attract and grow businesses to create better jobs for local people."