Public/private pay gap narrows – IFS

The gap between wages in the public and private sectors has fluctuated in recent years, but has narrowed most recently to stand at 3.6% in 2015/16 after accounting for differences in education, age and experience, according to IFS. This new analysis, sponsored by the Office of Manpower Economics (OME), predicts that, on the basis of current forecasts and government pay policy, public sector pay will fall by a further five percentage points relative to private sector pay between 2015 and 2020, taking the wage gap to its lowest level for at least 20 years.

‘Changing Educational Attainment of Graduate Recruits to Major Public Sector Occupations’, Office of Manpower Economics: www.gov.uk/government/publications/changing-educational-attainment-of-graduate-recruits-to-major-public-sector-occupations