Living standards for millions of workers plummeted at their fastest rate since 2009 over the winter as rampant inflation deepened the cost of living crisis, official figures released on Tuesday show.
Total average wages including bonuses dropped by 3.2 per cent in real terms in the three months to January, the biggest decline since the February to April 2009 quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics, and among the largest falls seen since detailed records began in 2001. If bonuses are excluded real wages fell by 2.4 per cent.
