Hyperinflation breaks out in London

According to tonight's Edinburgh Evening News:

SALARIES in the City of London have attained levels not seen since the height of the dotcom boom.

New research by economics consultancy the Centre for Economics and Business Research forecast the average pay packet would reach £326,000 this year, up almost £10,000 from last year, with further hikes on the cards for 2006 and 2007. The rises come after three years of firings following the economic slowdown.

I'm sorry, but I don't believe that.

Quite a few years ago I worked in the City. Back then I would guess that most of the people working there were "back office" staff, secretaries and junior clerks. No doubt some of those roles have now been outsourced to India, but £326,000? Come off it!

I wasn't able to find the information on the CEBR's own website, but I did find this:

Salaries in the City of London have risen by an average of 7.5 per cent since February 2005 as a shortage of candidates leaves employers struggling to recruit skilled staff. The trend is even more marked among senior professionals, where salaries have risen 16 per cent over the last four months to £77,081, according to figures from City recruiter Morgan McKinely. Over the twelve months since May 2004 the average basic City salary offering rose by 3.5 per cent. It is now £49,800 compared to £47,042 in May 2004.

So in May the average City salary was £49,800 and now it's risen to £326,000. With sloppy reporting like this in the business pages no wonder so many people fall for the propaganda of collectivists.