VocaLink Take Home Pay Index Reverses Recent Increase Hitting Record Low in April
By Vocalink, PRNEWednesday, May 5, 2010
The VocaLink Take Home Pay Index has Fallen From 1.5 per cent in March to 0.9 per cent in April Representing its Lowest Level on Record
RICKMANSWORTH, England, May 6, 2010 - The VocaLink Take Home Pay Index reflects the continuing
uncertainty in the UK labour market as it drops to its lowest level on record
of 0.9 per cent. The Index has now fallen below its previous lowest level of
1.0 per cent recorded in February this year. In March, the VocaLink Take Home
Pay Index showed signs of recovery as it leapt up 0.5 percentage points to
1.5 per cent, but these gains have been reversed in April's figures. As the
Index continues to fluctuate between a low range of 0.9 per cent and 2.0 per
cent, it indicates a fragile, sluggish economic recovery.
The gains made in manufacturing sector pay growth in March have been
reversed in April with the VocaLink manufacturing index falling by 0.7
percentage points. Services sector pay growth has also contributed to the
drop in the overall VocaLink Take Home Pay Index (
www.vocalink.com/thpi0510rep) for April by decreasing 0.5 percentage
points to hit just 1.0 per cent.
While the latest industry figures show that the UK economy has continued
to grow in the first quarter of 2010, it has done so at a slower pace than in
the final quarter of 2009. This fragile recovery means that 2010 is likely to
remain tough for households as the recent spike in inflation is not being
reflected in higher pay growth. As such, real income growth is weak, which is
placing downward pressure on increases in consumer spending.
Marion King, Chief Executive Officer at VocaLink, said: "The drop in this
month's VocaLink Take Home Pay Index continues to show the long-term trend of
depressed pay growth. The last 13 months have seen take home pay fluctuate
between a range much lower than the 4.0 per cent pre-recession average. Firms
are continuing to keep their labour costs contained as competitive pressures
remain high and economic activity recovers only gradually. In addition, the
uncertainty surrounding the impending General Election is likely to result in
caution over major business decisions."
Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of economics consultancy cebr, said:
"The first estimate of United Kingdom GDP showed that the economy continued
to grow in the first quarter of 2010, but at a slower pace than in the final
quarter of 2009. The decline in the rate of growth shows that the recovery is
on track but that it is still fragile; this sentiment is reflected in this
month's VocaLink Take Home Pay Index."
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.
Methodological notes
Interested parties can follow this link to learn more about the VocaLink
Take Home Pay Index methodology (
www.vocalink.com/en/AboutUs/Press%20room/Take%20home%20pay%20index/Pages/Take-Home-Pay-Index-methodological-notes.aspx).
About VocaLink
VocaLink is a specialist payments partner to banks, their corporate
customers and government departments. It designs and delivers smarter
domestic and international automated payments systems, and smarter ATM
switching (
www.vocalink.com/en/cards/ATM%20switching/Pages/ATMSwitching.aspx)
solutions.
In fact, our switching platform connects over 60,000 ATMs, the world's
busiest network, while its payments platform processes over 500 million
payments per month.
Vocalink's Real-time Payments Platform is the central infrastructure for
the UK's Faster Payments Service, whilst the company partnered with BGC,
Sweden's leading payments provider, who now outsource the majority of
Sweden's domestic payments to Vocalink.
We are very proud of our service delivery record. Our platforms operate
on never-fail technology to ensure total reliability and availability 24
hours a day allowing us to meet our customer needs.
In short, Vocalink's smarter payments capabilities offer banks,
corporates and government departments reach throughout Single Euro Payments
(www.vocalink.com/en/PaymentProcessing/Euro%20payments/Pages/Europayments.aspx)
Area (SEPA) and beyond.
About CEBR
Centre for Economics and Business Research ltd is an independent
consultancy with a reputation for sound business advice based on thorough and
insightful research. For more information on CEBR, visit
www.cebr.co.uk.
PR Contact: Deborah Souter PR Manager VocaLink Limited Drake House Homestead Road Rickmansworth Hertfordshire WD3 1FX +44(0)870-920-8651 www.vocalink.com
PR Contact: Deborah Souter, PR Manager, VocaLink Limited, Drake House, Homestead Road, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, WD3 1FX, +44(0)870-920-8651
Tags: England, May 6, Rickmansworth, United Kingdom, VocaLink