OBR ridiculed for ‘joke of a salary’ in analyst job offer
The UK’s fiscal watchdog has been ridiculed for offering a “joke of a salary” after advertising for new roles.
The Office for Budget Responsibility is hiring for three new “fiscal analysts” based in London with a salary range of just £38,430-52,000, despite the jobs being graded a “higher executive officer” function within the organisation.
The higher executive officer grade ranks as a more senior role in the civil service compared to the entry level “administrative officer” and the “executive officer” grades.
But the bottom end of the salary range is well below the median London salary of £44,000 and only £13,000 higher than someone earning minimum wage.
The average salary for a banking analyst in the private sector is £51,444, at the very top end of the job ad range, data from Glassdoor suggests.
‘You’re going to recruit sub-par talent’
Social media users took to X to lambast the OBR over the level of pay advertised for the role.
“Appalling pay packages for all advertised roles. The shame! Start paying qualified people better,” one user wrote.
“A £2.5tn economy rests on the shoulders of being paid £38k a year in central London,” another wrote.
“You’re going to recruit-sub-par talent,” another warned.
Incredulity over the OBR’s advertised salary range comes amid growing concern over the UK government’s ability to analyse economic data and produce reliable forecasts.
The Office For National Statistics (ONS) has come under scrutiny in recent months over problems with its Labour Force Survey, which was suspended in October 2023 over quality concerns.
The ONS has gradually shifted operations from London to Newport in a bid to save costs, a move which some have warned has led to difficulties in its ability to recruit top talent and retain existing expertise.
Last year, the Bank of England commissioned a review by former Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke after it suffered problems over the reliability of its economic forecasting. The review found several issues with the existing practices including outdated modelling software and poor staff management.
“The Bank should review its personnel policies to determine if existing staff could be deployed in ways that improve the forecasting infrastructure and forecast quality,” the review found.
“In general, employees should be more strongly encouraged and incentivised to accumulate experience and expertise in specific substantive areas (eg, through in-role promotions), rather than being forced to change fields or responsibilities to get promotions and raises.”