Brexit to further slash inflation-hit wages

NNN: Britain’s departure from the European Union will drive down workers’ wages even further for years to come, a study found on Wednesday, as the nation already faces a cost-of-living crisis due to soaring inflation.

The research, by the Resolution Foundation, a think tank and the London School of Economics, was published as official data showed UK inflation hitting a new 40-year high at 9.1 percent.

And Wednesday’s report claimed that Brexit had affected the openness and competitiveness of the UK economy abroad.

As a result, household incomes, already under intense pressure from runaway inflation, are forecast to fall further.

“It will take many years for the economy to adjust…but the aggregate effect will be a reduction in household income as a result of a weaker pound and lower investment and trade,” the report reads.

A weaker pound had also increased import costs, it added.

The report forecast that Brexit would cause a 1.8 percent drop in real wages, or inflation-adjusted earnings, by the end of the decade.

That equated to a loss of £470 ($577) per worker per year, it added.

“Brexit is not expected to transform the nature of the UK economy,” the report concluded.

“Instead, the impact of Brexit is best seen as a generalized reduction in the pay and productivity of workers.”