Scots workers £15,000 a year worse off due to flatlining wages and 'runaway inflation'
Real average weekly earnings in 2024 were just £8 higher than they were in 2008.
Hard-pressed Scots workers are £15,000 a year worse off than they should be due to flatlining wages and the impact of " runaway inflation", a new report has warned.
Research by the Future Economy Scotland think tank found workers would be £297 a week richer if wages had continued to grow "as normal" after 2007/08 financial crash.
It found real average weekly earnings in 2024 were just £8 higher than they were in 2008 – equivalent to an increase of just one per cent over the past 16 years.
Laurie Macfarlane, co-director of the think tank, said wage growth in Scotland remains historically low. Never in modern times have Scots seen their earnings grow so little over a 16-year period,' he said.
"Our analysis shows that if wages had instead grown as normal since 2008, the average full-time worker would be over £15,000 a year better off.'
Macfarlane said for many households, this meant the difference between economic security and 'living on the breadline'.
He went on: 'Although real earnings are now rising slowly again, the damage inflicted by disastrous austerity and runaway inflation cannot be undone.
'Rather than scapegoating migrants for the country's economic failures, the debate must focus on the real culprit: a broken economic model.
'As we enter an election year, there is an urgent need for political parties to embrace bold new ideas to transform the economy.
'Scotland simply can't afford yet another five years of economic failure.'
The Labour Government last month took steps to address persistent low pay rates across the country by raising both the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.
The UK Government said the changes, which follow a recommendation from the Low Pay Commission last year, mean a full-time worker earning the living wage will see a £1,400 increase in their annual salary.
An estimated 220,000 workers in Scotland will receive an uplift as a result of the increased rates.
The National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over has increased 6.7 per cent, from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour.
The National Minimum Wage for workers aged 18-20 sees a record increase of 16.2 per cent, from £8.60 to £10 per hour.
And the minimum wage for those under-18 has increased by 18 per cent, to £7.55 per hour.
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