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Highlights
- Regular pay in the UK dipped by a record rate of 2.8%, while the total pay dropped by 0.9% in the three months to May, as per ONS.
- The Conservatives are being blamed by Labour for this huge dip in real wages.
- Meanwhile, the total pay growth for the public and private sectors has gone up by 1.5% and 7.2% on average.
The living standards of UK workers plunged by a record high level in May following the failure of pay hikes to grow in line with inflation. According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday, the total pay on average stood at 6.2% including the bonuses over the three months to May, and the regular pay stood at 4.3% without including the bonuses. The regular pay dipped by a record rate of 2.8%, while the total pay dropped by 0.9%.
From March to May, the total pay growth for the public and private sectors has gone up by 1.5% and 7.2% on average, respectively. Also, primarily owing to the robust bonus payouts, the highest growth rates have been witnessed by the construction and finance & business services sectors, at 8.1% and 8.2%, respectively.
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The Conservatives are being blamed by Labour for this huge dip in real wages, claiming that the Government has not done enough to protect people from the soaring inflation leading to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. On the brighter side, the employment figures show that the number of people joining the workforce has been above expectations. As compared to the City Analyst forecast of around 120,000, the number of people becoming a part of the labour market stood at over 290,000.
At the same time, unemployment remained at 3.8% and vacancy levels were driven up to a new high by employers. Though, several workers who left their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic were not attracted to the labour market again, which left the employment rate of 75.9% lower than the pre-Covid levels.
Amid the falling real wages, Brits are looking for ways to protect their money and beat inflation. Investing in the following dividend stocks may help them in strengthening their portfolio and securing a passive income stream.
Diversified Energy Company plc (LON: DEC)
The shares of the American oil and gas producer, Diversified Energy Company plc, were experiencing a surge of 0.18% at 8:50 AM (GMT+1) on Wednesday and were trading at GBX 112.90. The FTSE 250 firm currently has a market cap of £959.03m and is offering a whopping annual dividend yield of 12.7%. As of 20 July, Diversified Energy Company has given positive returns of 14.36% and 8.33% to its shareholders on an annual and YTD basis, respectively. However, its EPS lies in the negative zone, at -0.03%.
Imperial Brands plc (LON: IMB)
The shares of the British tobacco producer, Imperial Brands plc, were seeing a surge of 0.63% at 8:56 AM (GMT+1) on Wednesday and were trading at GBX 1,912.50. The FTSE 100 firm currently has a market cap of £18,062.51m and is offering an annual dividend yield of 7.5%. As of 20 July, Imperial Brands has given positive returns of 23.50% and 18.06% to its shareholders on an annual and YTD basis, respectively. Its EPS stood in a positive zone at 3.00%.
NewRiver REIT Plc (LON: NRR)
The shares of the leading real estate investment firm, NewRiver REIT Plc, were trading at GBX 92.70 at 9:00 AM (GMT+1) on Wednesday. The firm currently has a market cap of £285.71m and is offering an annual dividend yield of 6.5%. As of 20 July, NewRiver REIT has given positive returns of 15.09% and 4.97% to its shareholders on an annual and YTD basis, respectively. However, its EPS lies in the negative zone, at -0.49%.
