Women workers in Cumbria still lag behind their male colleagues when it comes to pay, according to new research.

Men in full-time jobs earn an average of £19,020 while women are paid an average of £15,440, a survey of households and employers across the county found.

More than 4,000 households countywide were interviewed in the survey, conducted on behalf of the Cumbria Economic Intelligence Partnership, comprising the Learning and Skills Council, county and district councils, Cumbria Tourist Board, Business Link Cumbria, Lake District National Park Authority and further education colleges.

LSC executive director Mick Farley highlighted the figures at a presentation of the survey's main findings at the Rheged visitor centre, Penrith. "Average annual earnings for women have risen since the first survey in 1998, but they still lag behind the earnings of men. That's not unique to Cumbria but it's a serious issue that we must give some attention to in this county," he said.

Mr Farley also highlighted the fact that one in five business in the county still did not use information and computer technology, while 50 per cent of people of working age questioned did not use computers either at home or at work. Many of those who did use computers needed more training to make better use of them.

More than a quarter of businesses that recruited one or more permanent staff in the past 12 months had found it difficult to fill vacancies, while eight per cent of firms felt their workforce was not skilled enough.

Mr Farley said the research findings underlined the fact that learning paid, as workers with an equivalent of an NVQ level 4 qualification earning more than twice as much as those with a level 1 qualification.

February 13, 2003 10:00