We read a post this week that said 1 year ago, 4 pints of milk was 95p and today, it's £1.60! We are hearing on a regular basis that candidates are really struggling with living costs and can’t afford to survive on the salaries they are on, particularly graduates.
Given the cost-of-living crisis, rent prices going up and increasing inflation rates we must try to raise starting salaries - particularly in London.
The good news is The National Living Wage (NLW) increased on Saturday 1 April by 9.7% to £10.42 so based on a standard working week 9 - 5.30 (37.5 hours) basic salary would be £20,319. This provided a pay rise to millions of workers aged 23 and over across the UK. 21 - 22 year olds saw their pay increase by 10.9% to £10.18 per hour while pay for younger workers and apprentices also increased by 9.7%.
NMW rates:
- National Living Wage (23+) £10.42
- 21-22 Year Old Rate £10.18
- 18-20 Year Old Rate £7.49
- 16-17 Year Old Rate £5.28
- Apprentice Rate £5.28
As a guideline – the London “living wage” is £11.95, £23,302 a year.
We have been working on gathering salary information across all areas with a focus on junior to mid-level salaries. We have seen some businesses increasing salaries at this level. We saw an increase of around 9% for most salaries at this level. We also saw salaries offered in excess of £35,000 for candidates with just 2 - 3 years industry experience, particularly in production, sourcing, buying, merchandising and wholesale.
More to come on this!
