Public services will struggle to recruit staff unless Tory pay cap ends, IFS warns

‘Public services will struggle to recruit and retain the staff they need unless ministers ease the restraint on pay, a leading economic think tank has warned.
A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found average public sector earnings had fallen by 4 per cent in real terms since 2009-10 under the coalition and Conservative governments.
While private sector pay was hit even harder in the immediate aftermath of the financial crash of 2008, the gap between public and private had since returned to pre-crisis levels.
Continuing pay restraint for public sector workers would, therefore, take their pay to “historically low levels” compared to their private sector counterparts, the report said.
The situation is particularly acute among highly educated professionals and workers in London and the South East where the pay gap with the private sector is greatest.’
Read more: Public services will struggle to recruit staff unless Tory pay cap ends, IFS warns