We were sat outside a pub on Lower Byrom Street when we heard it: a group of southerners, Londoners maybe, complaining about their “Manchester salaries”.
Think about it — it’s the reverse of London weighting: sorry you’re no longer in London weighting; where the Burnham bounce has forced a few London-dwellers away from the city they love, and into the city we love, without necessarily compensating them for the trouble.
Of course, this isn’t normally the case. When the BBC upped sticks to Salford, they guaranteed all northward movers that they’d keep their weighted salaries, and even paid for their moves and sometimes helped them keep a place in the capital.
But it did get us thinking, how much do Mancunians actually earn? Google the question and you’ll find a series of statistics from UKnetpay…
Median salary: £34,100 (compared to £34,963 UK wide)
Mean salary: £37,800
Top-paying sectors: Technology, finance, legal, engineering, in that order.
But these numbers hardly paint a picture of what living in Manchester is actually like, financially. So we took to the streets, and asked around 40 Mancunians or adopted-Mancunians their name, age, job title, and how much money they make. Exactly 15 of them agreed to tell us.
Here are the results. Among the motley crew are the son of a Kuwaiti gold dealer living in Deansgate towers; a neurologist; an usher (not the Usher); an AI engineer; and a live-subtitler who’s losing her job to AI. Times are changing and they’re changing fast, and how much money we make (and the way we make it) is changing with them. Here’s not exactly how much Mancunians make, but how much these 15 Mancunians make.
Sebastian, 30, the AI engineer who left it all for metal detecting
£65,000 plus 10% bonus (as an engineer)
We went to Deansgate Towers hoping to meet someone with a little dog who works in AI, so we were delighted when we spotted Sebastian and his frenchie, Frankie. However, Sebastian tells us he recently left the AI-life to follow his passion: metal detecting. He now runs a metal detection research platform called FieldFinders, where land owners can rent their land to detectorists (listing it alongside things like size, soil type, and day rate) while detectorists themselves can log their findings and earn certificates. The platform is very new — and right now, it just covers costs.
Ren, 24, usher (and stage manager and freelance drama facilitator) who’s just happy to be doing what she loves
£11,281 last year
Ren actually works in the same building as us, but we bump into her on Oxford Road. She’s a part-time usher at the Royal Exchange, on a zero-hour contract for £13.75 or £14.10 an hour, depending on the role she’s doing that day. She moved to Manchester five years ago to study English and Drama. “It’s rare to be doing a job in the sector I studied,” she says. Other than ushering, she works as a freelance drama facilitator at after school clubs or with disabled adults, and picks up projects as a stage manager when she can — most recently at the Edinburgh Fringe, “which was really cool.” Last year she made just over £11k all in all, but this year she’s hoping to make enough to actually have to do her tax returns.
Eddie, 40, the tender-turned-owner of Microbar
Was on £14.50 an hour, now has no idea
Eddie had been running Microbar for the past three years when, in April, the council informed traders they’d be going on rolling licenses from September onwards. As we reported at the time, his bosses said they were going to close the bar in light of the announcement. Then, thankfully, the council u-turned and went back to long-term leases.
And then, in further exciting news, Eddie bought the bar. “So yeah, I was on £14.50 an hour, which is unreal for bar work,” and he closed at the same time as the market, which meant far more sociable hours.
But, as a new business owner, Eddie hasn’t a clue what he's actually making salary-wise. But seeing he thought he was going to be out of a job six months ago, he’s fine with that.
Joy, 34, the live subtitler losing her job to AI
£22 an hour Monday to Friday, £25 on weekends
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