Rochdale wages among worst in the UK

Rochdale workers are the fifth worst paid in the country according to the GMB Union's Annual Earnings Survey.

Employees in Blackpool, Ceredigion, Inverclyde and Blaenau Gwent are the only ones in the UK that earn less.

The Survey ranks every area in the UK by their average annual gross pay of full-time men and women workers, from the highest to the lowest, with Rochdale listed at number 197 out of 201.

The average for the borough's workers as of April last year was £21,984 a year; that of the lowest area - Blaenau Gwent - was just £434 less at £21,550.

In the North West Region, Rochdale is listed as the 21st lowest paid of the 22 areas in the region, with only Blackpool below it by just £13 a year.

Of the borough's nearest neighbours, Oldham is just one place higher in the national list at number 196 with its average of £22,446; Bury is at 67 with £29,477.

Top of the list is the City of London with average gross annual earnings of ££82,084, compared with the national average of £31,323.