Yahoo Finance Brits in seaside towns earn £1,600 less than inland workers
Brits in seaside towns earn about £1,600 less than inland workers every year, research shows.
BBC analysis of official government data shows workers in coastal constituencies earned just £22,104 before tax in 2018 – £1,681 less than in non-coastal areas.
In fact, the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows coastal communities are some of the most deprived places in the UK. Taking inflation into account, wages have dropped in two-third of these towns since 2010.
READ MORE: Seaside Towns Given More Government Cash
Most significantly, wages in Wirral West and Weston-Super-Mare are down 25% since a decade ago.
One likely explanation is that people in coastal areas are more likely to work in “low-skilled, low-paid seasonal jobs”, the BBC said.
But Mike Hill MP, chair of the all Parliamentary Group for Coastal Communities, told the BBC that, "For a long time, coastal communities have felt forgotten.
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"Many of these areas have lost industries like ship-building that once provided thousands of well-paid jobs,” he said.
"Research shows that without major changes, by 2030, places like my own constituency of Hartlepool could see lots of young people leave coastal areas.
“This underlines why we need the right investment to protect the long term future of our coastal towns."
READ MORE: Seaside towns and their workers are falling behind in the UK
Earlier this year, the seaside village of Jaywick in Essex was named the most deprived place in England for the third consecutive year.
The UK government recently announced £10m will go to coastal communities in Cumbria, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Kent and Suffolk as part of its Coastal Communities Fund.
The money will go towards improving local attractions, creating jobs and promoting socio-economic growth, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government said.
READ MORE: £45m to save British seaside town
The projects are forecast to support nearly 1,000 jobs and attract up to £7.9m in additional investment from public and private sector sources.
The government plans to invest over £200m in the Great British coast by 2021.
