£9,000 a year pay gap between West Midlands workers
Average pay in parts of the West Midlands varies by £9,000 a year for places less than 20 miles apart.
New figures today reveal people in Sandwell are the poorest paid and earn more than £6,000 a year less than the national average.
Meanwhile, people in Solihull earn an average wage of £30,600.
There were calls today for a commitment from employers to pay the national 'living wage' of £7.65 an hour - the amount considered the minimum someone needs to earn to cover the basic cost of living.
The Black Country has some of the lowest annual pay with working people in Sandwell and Walsall on an average of £21,100 a year, while in Warwick it is £30,700.
People in Lichfield also earn an average of £28,500 while in South Staffordshire it is £27,000.
The average wage in Stafford is £26,700,
Workers in Dudley can earn an average of £23,800 and in Wolverhampton it is £22,500. Cannock Chase's average is £22,400 and Wyre Forest's is £22,100.
Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, said people in Sandwell were working longer for less.
He said: "Sandwell is at the extreme end of working pay inequality in Britain.
"One in three people in work is paid less than the living wage.
"We need to address the issues around zero hours contracts as well.
"There is only a finite amount of money to be shared out.
"But when people look at the enormous sums received by the bankers in London and realise that it was that sector that brought our economy to its knees, they will see that it is the people working in the Black Country and wider West Midlands who are paying the price."
The figures were compiled by employment and training provider ManpowerGroup, who today said pay levels across the West Midlands were starting to rise.
James Hick, UK managing director of ManpowerGroup Solutions, said: "There are reasons for workers in the West Midlands to have a spring in their step.
"We've known for a while that the employment prospects for people in this part of the UK have been above average but pay has been a lagging indicator.
"Pay levels are starting to rise across the region and that should help drive the economic recovery in Birmingham and the surrounding areas as confidence continues to return."
