We're not earning more regardless of claims by Halifax

According to the Telegraph and a large number of other papers poor places such as Thanet top the Halifax table for 2003 to 2008 wage increase (£18,769 to £29,956 an apparent 60% jump). The problem here is that presented as they are the figures seem to indicate the opposite to the truth.

In an article for the Thanet Star entitled "How they came up with the £30,000 a year lie" I explain how these figures are doubly pointless as a pound in 2003 is not the same as a pound in 2008 due to inflation. Assuming an average inflation rate of 4% the 2003 figure would actually be £22,835 in real terms which is only a 31% increase.

What is worse is that the selective sample actually allows us to see the dire state of the underlying situation. In short it looks like we are all earning more but actually only the well paid are not losing jobs.

Typically of the easily led press this figure of £30,000 is quoted with little context and no interpretation. Statistics require both context and explanation to mean anything and the Halifax should know better than to release contextless data to the press. I imagine they are after the headline space and they seem to have got it too.
Matt B, How they came up with the £30,000 a year lie, Thanet star, December 3, 2008

The Thanet Star article points out how hard it is to find the original source for the figures but does point to fool.co.uk as it has some charts of the data on it.

The results only consider people in employment and so we are able to shave away the lowest income group (those on benefits). What is more the average is rising in an economic down turn this can only be caused by a shift in the general population or a loss of members within specific strata of the population. In other words those in low paid jobs are getting the sack.

To see some tasty diagrams explaining this further and to find out why I think this deception is so wide spread you will need to read: How they came up with the £30,000 a year lie.