AVERAGE wages for jobs in the Forest are among the lowest in Britain, government figures show.

The median weekly wage for people employed in the Forest of Dean District Council area over the last year was £324.90, more than £110 less than the average of £450 for mainland Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Statisticians use the median – taking all the individual numbers and use the halfway point as the average – because there is less chance of the figure being skewed by a few large numbers.

Of the 413 district and county council areas across England, Wales and Scotland for which figures are available, the Forest of Dean was 408th.

Median wages in the Forest fell by 1.1 per cent compared with last year and also lag behind the averages for Glou­cestershire, Monmouth­shire and Herefordshire.

The median for Glou­cestershire was £436.40, in Herefordshire it was £370.20 and for Monmouthshire it was £430.20.

Five years ago, in 2013, the median wage in the Forest was £380.90 but it was hit by a drop of nearly 15 per cent between 2014 and 2015.

The figures show the average wage in the Forest is just 20p more than it was at the start of the financial crisis in 2008.

Figures have also been published for the Forest for the difference in pay between men and women, the gender pay gap.

In terms of both full- and part-time jobs, men are on average paid 8.6 per cent more than women but when it comes to full-time work the gap is 5.9 per cent in favour of women.

In Monmouthshire, the pay gap for all jobs is 12.2 per cent and for full-time employment is is 4.2 per cent.

The overall gap in Herefordshire was 10.5 per cent and for full-time jobs it was 9.8 per cent.

Figures for the gender pay gap in part-time work in each of the three council areas have not been published with ONS saying they are either not reliable or are not available.

The statistics have been highlighted by the TUC (Trades Unions Congress) which is using them to argue the case for more public investment in the forthcoming Budget.

TUC South West regional secretary Nigel Costley, said: “The Forest of Dean seems stuck in an economy that can only offer low pay.”