Express & Star

Nearly half of workers in the West Midlands are struggling to save for their future, research shows

Nearly half (44%) of employees in the West Midlands feel their current salaries don’t pay enough for them to meet their financial goals, such as purchasing a house or saving for their retirement.

By contributor Charlotte Russell
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Nearly a quarter (21%) are also struggling to make ends meet to pay their bills and mortgages. This comes from new research by recruitment company, Reed, which also found that 41% of workers in the West Midlands say they’re working over their contracted hours each week – clocking up an average of 6.2 hours in overtime. Nearly half (47%) of workers in the region say this overtime is necessary because they have more work to do than working hours in their day, and 39% because their job role and responsibilities require it.

When asked if they’re compensated for the extra hours they work, only 21% of workers in the West Midlands say they’re paid overtime, just 20% said they could accrue their hours, while 40% said they aren’t compensated in any way.

Chis Willsher, Regional Director at Reed, said: “These figures for the West Midlands are concerning, with so many people struggling to pay their bills or save for their future. From the overtime statistics, it’s clear that people are working hard, but if they’re not getting paid for it, it won’t ease their financial pressures.

“The employment market is tight, with more than 20% of the West Midlands’ population classed as economically inactive. Because of this, many employees may feel they need to pick up the slack or work extra hours to account for the lack of workers within the market at the moment. However, it’s important for workers to ensure they don’t give themselves additional stress or burnout.

“Across the region, we continue to see businesses struggling to meet rising costs and taxes. Clocking extra hours could be a sign of people wanting to prove their worth, or simply an indication of how they’re working hard to keep things going.”

As part of its annual salary guides research, Reed analysed more than 21 million job adverts and asked 5,000 workers across the UK regions a range of questions on their salary and work life. The research also looked at how many hours UK employees work per week and how much they are compensated for it.

Reed has produced a suite of 10 sector-specific salary guides, you can download them at: reed.com