The best-paid jobs of 2014


Updated on 17 December 2014 | 3 Comments

ONS figures reveal best-paid jobs and earnings growth

Brokers, chief executives and pilots enjoyed a fruitful 2014, taking home the largest pay packets according to the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

A tiny payrise for most of us

The survey revealed that gross weekly earnings for full-time employees increased £518 in April 2014. That's up by just £1 on 2013, making it the smallest annual growth since 1997.

In fact, when you take inflation into account, weekly earnings actually fell by 1.6% compared to the previous year. This downward trend has been going on since 2008.

Highs and lows

[SPOTLIGHT]The survey reveals the highest and lowest earning jobs in the country. In 2014, the bottom 10% of full-time employees were earning less than £288 a week, while the top 10% earned over £1,024.

The 10 highest-earning occupations are set out below. All earnings referred to in the table are the mean, gross figures for full-time workers (so before tax is paid), so they aren't equal to take-home pay.

Occupation

Earnings

Brokers

£151,640

Chief executives and senior officials

£114,137

Aircraft pilots and flight engineers

£94,179

Marketing and sales directors

£89,323

Information technology and telecommunications directors

£86,546

Advertising and public relations directors

£84,496

Financial institution managers and directors

£84,231

Financial managers and directors

£82,769

Legal professionals

£80,025

Medical practitioners

£78,755

Functional managers and directors

£77,147

Air traffic controllers

£76,949

Source: ONS

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Lowest earners

Meanwhile, the jobs that have the lowest average incomes mostly consist of jobs in the hospitality, retail and cleaning industries. Again, all figures in the table below refer to full-time workers’ earnings, before tax.

Occupation

Earnings

Waiters and waitresses

£12,730

Bar staff

£13,160

Kitchen and catering assistants

£13,509

Other elementary service occupations

£13,578

Launderers, dry cleaners and pressers

£14,432

Leisure and theme park attendants

£14,517

Retail cashiers and check-out operators

£14,560

Cleaners and domestics

£14,693

Hairdressers and barbers

£14,783

Playworkers

£14,937

Source: ONS

Changes since last year

While inflation-adjusted earnings have fallen, certain occupational groups have seen huge rises in their salaries. For example, the mean average earnings of advertising and public relations directors has shot up by 29.9% to £84,496, while information technology and telecommunications directors’ pay rose by 24.9% to £86,546.

Rail construction and maintenance operatives, on the other hand, have seen a 12.9% decrease in their pay on average, while pub owners and managers faced a 10.6% drop in their earnings.

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