Limavady people earn least in Northern Ireland

Of all the 26 local government districts in Northern Ireland, the average Limavady worker is rock-bottom on the pay scale.

The most accurate figures available show that full-time employees working in Limavady take home an average of just £286 per week, some £160 less than the Northern Ireland average.

The Northern Ireland average stands at £446.40 per week, with people working full-time in areas such as Carrickfergus taking home more than £500 per week.

People living in Limavady, but who may work elsewhere, are also taking home much less than people from other areas. The average weekly wage for someone living but not necessarily working in Limavady stands at £362.40, again rock-bottom on the pay-scale.

Workers in neighbouring areas such as Coleraine and Londonderry are also being paid much more than people working in Limavady. In Coleraine, the average full time worker is paid £90 more than people in Limavady with an average of at £379, while in Londonderry the average full-time worker takes home an extra £195.80.

When the figures are broken down by Parliamentary Constituency, people working full-time in East Londonderry, which covers an area including both Coleraine and Limavady and other smaller towns and villages, are also bottom of the pay-scale. The average wage for a person working in East Londonderry stands at £352.70, vastly lower than the average wage in South Belfast which stands at £498.30.

When the figures are broken down by place of residence, rather than place of employment, East Londonderry climbs off the unenviable bottom position, although the Foyle constituency which covers the city of Londonderry is second-from-bottom of the pay scale.

People living in the South Belfast constituency take home the highest pay packet, at £551.50 per week.

The average wages quoted above represent the ‘median’ weekly wage as estimated by statisticians from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), working on the Northern Ireland Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

A spokesperson for the Department of Finance and Personnel, who are responsible for the survey, explained: “Statisticians have advised we would tend to use median earnings figures for full-time employees on the SOC 2000 classification to give more accurate comparisons.

“The reason for this is that mean earnings can be affected by small numbers of very high or very low figures while the breakdown of full-time/part-time employees can sometimes distort figures for all employees.”

The spokesperson added: “Full-time employees working in Limavady take home a median weekly wage of £286.1 per week, compared to a median figure of £450.6 for the whole of Northern Ireland.”