Average weekly earnings have fallen by 6% compared to last year according to the ONS.

New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that average weekly earnings have fallen by 6% compared to last year, and bonuses have also suffered.

The ONS this week reported that average weekly earnings fell to £459.10 in February– the 5.8% drop being the steepest fall in weekly wages recorded since the Office for National Statistics (ONS) began publishing such data in 2001.

The drop is largely due to the retraction of city bonuses, which have more than halved, yet even at £549.90 a week from £1,312.80 in February – part of the peak period for bonus payments – city workers are still being substantially rewarded.

According The Guardian, “Analysis of preliminary pay data from the Office for National Statistics shows that in the first three months of the bonus season to February the financial sector has shared out £5 billion in bonuses, half the level of the same period last year.

“Extrapolating that to the full five months of the bonus season to April means payouts will be between £6.5bn and £7bn, compared with £13.7bn last year.”

The private sector took the full force of the fall in weekly earnings, down sharply by 7.7% at £463.50, while average weekly earnings in the public sector actually rose by 3.2% to £442.90.

With an increasing number of employers freezing or even cutting pay, further falls in average earnings are possible in the coming months. February was the second month running in which incomes fell, following a 1.9% decline in January.