Wages in Dorset are rising lower than the rate of inflation, new figures show.

Average wages in the county have risen by less than 8% as the cost of living crisis begins to bite and real wages continute to fall.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show median pay in Dorset was £1,903 per month in August - up from £1,777 a year before.

That represents a rise of 7.1% in the last 12 months - however that increase falls below the recent rises in inflation.

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ONS figures show real-terms pay excluding bonuses – taking inflation into account – fell by 2.8% year on year between May and July across the country, among the largest drop seen since records began in 2011.

The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to July 2022, up from 8.2% in June.

The rise in the cost of living has lead to the Trade Union Congress saying the Prime Minister "must get pay rising" ahead of a difficult winter with many households worried how they will make ends meet.

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TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Every worker deserves a decent standard of living, and as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies, millions of families don’t know how they will make ends meet this winter."

Ms O'Grady urged Mrs Truss to increase pay packets, including boosting the minimum wage, giving public sector workers a decent pay rise, and allowing unions to negotiate better compensation for working people.

Nationally, the median monthly wages have risen by 6.5% in the last year to £2,111 in August, but this still represents a real-terms pay cut thanks to soaring inflation.

Greg Thwaites, research director of think tank Resolution Foundation, said the only "chink of light" is the slight fall in inflation – which is still close to a 40-year high but eased slightly to 9.9% in August from 10.1% the month before.

Unemployment among 16 to 64-year-olds also continued to fall nationally year on year, reaching its lowest point since 1974 at 3.7% in the three months to July, separate ONS statistics outline.

In the South West, it stood at 2.8% – down from 3.4% the year before and the lowest in the country alongside the East Midlands.

The Treasury declined to comment due to the period of national mourning.