A 4.66% rise in travel pay last month more than outstripped the 2.7% increase in UK inflation in the year to April, new figures reveal.
Salaries for new travel jobs rose to an average of £26,153 – the highest level for 12 months and the biggest monthly rise since last November.
This came at a time when higher air fares were the main contributor to the jump in the cost of living, up from 2.3% in March. The cost of air travel went up by 18.6% from the previous month due to Easter falling in April compared to March 27 last year.
Wages for standard jobs in the travel and tourism industry, paying up to £40,000, increased by 4.92% in April to £23,043, the highest average figure recorded in the past year.
Pay for travel jobs went up across the country, with London and the south of England seeing the highest monthly totals since April last year, while salaries in the north of the UK reached their highest point so far this year.
It opposes the trends across the UK economy, where wages increased at an average of 2.3% including bonuses, less than the 2.7% inflation.
However, the number of new travel jobs and candidate registrations in April both dipped from their highs in March, but remain up compared to a year ago, with both measures now having risen year-on-year in each of the first four months of 2017.
Barbara Kolosinska, director at C&M Travel Recruitment and C&M Executive Recruitment which complied the pay data, said: “It was an unsettled first quarter of the year in terms of new travel job salaries, with small increases in January and March and a fall in February, but April’s increase of 4.66% is much more like it and takes us to our strongest figures in a year.
“It was a particularly good month for those seeking travel jobs in London, who found that the average new role offered a very attractive salary of £28,040, while there was also positive news for those in the north of the UK, with wages rising to £22,104, which is the highest total of 2017 so far.”
She added: “After the amazing figures in March, it comes as no surprise that we have seen a fall in both vacancies and candidates in April, but activity in 2017 continues to far outpace what we saw in the same months of 2016.
“Every month this year has seen an increase in candidate registrations compared to the equivalent period in 2016, and this is particularly welcome as there continue to be fantastic opportunities available for quality applicants with the relevant travel experience.”