Travel agents

  Travel agents recorded the biggest rise in pay last year, up 21% in a year, official data shows, with public relations directors and publicans next on the list. Sports coaches saw the largest fall and, overall, UK workers saw earnings fail to keep pace with rising prices. The average full-time worker's annual wage was nearly £35,000 in April 2023, a rise of 5.8% on the previous year. But the cost of living grew faster than wages over the same period. That ate into workers' spending power. Rebound from Covid Jobs, like travel agents and publicans, fared better than average, but that was likely to be part of a rebound after these roles were hit hard during Covid. Their typical annual earnings were also still below the national average of all occupations. Sean Tipton, from the travel agents trade body ABTA, said: "During the pandemic, the travel industry was by far the worst affected. Business fell through the floor. Over 100,000 people left the travel sector." When de...