Research reveals 'extraordinary' flatlining wages in Scotland since financial crash
Wages in Scotland have flatlined over the last 17 years - with polling showing voters remain concerned about the cost of living crisis.
Average earnings in Scotland are £17,000 lower than if wages had grown as normal instead of flatlining during the 2008 financial crash, new analysis has revealed.
Findings by non-partisan think tank, Future Economy Scotland, have also revealed that real median weekly earnings at the end of 2025 were just £18 higher than they were in 2008 – equivalent to an increase of just 2.4 per cent over the past 17 years.
With polling showing the cost of living crisis being at the forefront of voters' minds ahead of next month’s Holyrood election, Future Economy Scotland has warned "Scots are feeling the squeeze" after "nearly two decades of flat pay and rising prices".
The new analysis has found that on average, annual pay grew more than 15 times faster before the 2008 financial crisis than it has done since.
The study found that if annual earnings had continued to grow in line with their pre-crisis trend, the average full-time worker would be £320 a week better off – equivalent to £16,680 per year.
In 2025 the average full-time worker in Scotland earned £40,238 a year. If earnings had instead grown in line with pre-crisis trends, the same worker would be earning £56,918 today.
Co-director of Future Economy Scotland, Laurie Macfarlane, said: “The squeeze on earnings over the past 17 years is extraordinary.
“Scots have forgotten what progress feels like – never in modern times has our pay grown so little for such a prolonged period. The price we have all paid in terms of lost income is staggering.”
He added: “Our analysis shows that if wages had instead grown as normal since 2008, the
average worker would be nearly £17,000 a year better off. For many households, this is the difference between economic security and living on the breadline.
“After nearly two decades of flat pay and rising prices, Scots are feeling the squeeze. This election must mark a turning point, but this requires moving beyond business-as-usual. Ambitious rhetoric won’t cut it.
SNP depute leader, Keith Brown, argued that the financial crash is “where the seeds of Brexit were sown”, adding that it “grew into the cost of living crisis hard pressed Scottish families suffer with today”.
He added: "While wages stagnate, costs for Scottish families continue to rise, which is exactly why an SNP government will introduce caps on food prices, cap bus fares at £2 and provide transformational childcare to every single Scottish family.”
Scottish Labour economy spokesperson, Daniel Johnson, said: "Scotland's low pay, low growth economy has failed working people and held our country back.
"Too many people in Scotland feel like they are paying more and getting less because the economy no longer works for them.
"This is not as good as it gets and Scottish Labour is determined to turn the page on SNP failure and make life more affordable for working people.”
Craig Hoy, Scottish Conservative finance spokesman, said: "These damning figures prove wage growth has flatlined in Scotland the whole time the SNP have been in power.
"Combined with John Swinney's higher taxes, that is hammering hard-pressed Scots during a cost-of-living crisis.
"Scotland desperately needs strong economic growth, but it has been sluggish under the SNP whose anti-business stance has prevented firms from creating more jobs.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.