WARRINGTON has been named in the top five places to see a drop in average earnings from 2008 to 2013.

Workers in Warrington have seen a drop in their salaries by 24 per cent, new figures have revealed.

The statistics, collected by the GMB, reveal the average earnings in 2013 were £26,607.

This is down £1,759 from the average salary in 2008, which was £28,366.

Paul Kenny GMB general secretary said: “These alarming figures show how hard-pressed working people across the UK are struggling to pay their bills after years of wage decline and attacks on the living standards of families throughout the land.

“Working people deserve and need a decent pay rise to halt the drop in living standards.”

The drop in salaries in Warrington is significantly higher than the average for the north west at 13 per cent.

Joining Warrington in the top five worst affected areas in the UK is Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden, Haringey and Greenwich.

The GDP per capita in the UK - which is one of the primary indicators of a country's economic performance - in 2013 at £23,894 was 5.7 per cent below the 2007 figure of £25,326.

This fall in GDP per head is the root cause of the 13.8 per cent drop in the real value of average earnings of all employees in employment between April 2008 and November 2013 in the UK.