Workers in Brighton and Hove earned almost £4,000 a year less than the national average last year, new figures have revealed.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics show the average worker in the city earned £21,970 in 2011 compared to £25,552 nationally.
One worried business leader said the numbers show the city is falling behind the competition by failing to attract high value employers.
Tony Mernagh, chief executive of Brighton and Hove Economic Partnership, said: “These figures don’t surprise me because there is a desperate need to attract higher-paid work into our city.
“We have a lot of jobs in the hospitality and retail sector that tend to be lower-paid.
“There are a lot of entry-level jobs in the retail sector that are full of people with good qualifications but they take the jobs because there are no better-paid jobs out there.”
Mr Mernagh said graduates in low-paid jobs need to be given the opportunity to move into well-paid work if average wages in Brighton and Hove are to improve.
But he said there was hope for the city’s economy because digital and creative companies are flocking to the south coast, hungry for talented graduates.
“Many of these problems can only ultimately be solved by the market but there are things we can do to help it in the right direction,” he said.
“For instance we have plans to turn New England House into a media village. Schemes like this will help to attract high value employers.”
Crawley peak
The picture was rosier in Crawley, where the average worker earns a mammoth £29,224, almost £4,000 higher than the national average.
Rosemary French, executive director of the Gatwick Diamond business partnership, said the stats showed the area was prospering, with plenty of high-paid work.
She said: “It’s because of the knowledge sector. We’re talking financial services, the aviation industry and information technology.
“The area has grown up over the last 50 or 60 years to become a powerhouse in Sussex.
"The airport is critical and companies like the good links to London.
“It’s particularly because Gatwick is positioned near upmarket towns like Horsham, where there is a good quality of life, so people want to come to live and work here.”
See a full list of average earnings for districts across Sussex and county averages inside today's Argus.
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