The hard yards - speech by Andrew Bailey i  Given at the Society of Professional Economists Annual Dinner  The hard yards ‐ speech by Andrew Bailey | Bank of England  Page 1  Published on 27 September 2021  Andrew Bailey looks at the varying forces currently acting on the economy and what they mean for monetary policy. One is the supply bottlenecks that are affecting the availability of goods and services. While they will push up on the cost of living, that will likely only be temporary. The labour market presents more of a puzzle. Job vacancies have been at record levels, but as the furlough scheme ends, it is uncertain what will happen to hiring and wages. The Monetary Policy Committee focuses on medium-term inflation rather than transient factors. But if these factors are likely to be more persistent, the committee will step in and adjust monetary policy as needed. Speech I am going to speak this evening about the state of the economy and about monetary policy as the recovery from Covid unfolds. The title of this speech, The Hard Yards, is I think a saying that originated in sailing, though I associate it more with forward play in rugby. I remember saying, around a year ago when the recovery looked rapid, that the hard yards were yet to come, and while I don’t want to claim any great prescience, it appears to be turning out that way.
By occupation, consistent with qualifications, the gender pay gap is smaller for professional and administrative occupations than for skilled trades, customer service and plant operatives (Chart 9). For almost all occupations, the gender pay gap is higher outside London. In 2018, the gender pay gap outside London remained higher for managers, skilled trades and elementary occupations. For the rest of the occupations, the pay gap in London overtook the respective gap outside London. Broadly speaking, occupations with median hourly pay of more than £ (managers, professional, and associate occupations) have lower gender pay gaps than occupations where the median hourly pay is less than £ (sales and customer services, and elementary occupations). Relatedly, there is a clear inverse relationship between the gender pay gap and female-dominated professions. Occupations with a lower share of females tend to be characterised by higher gender pay gaps and vice versa, consistent with increased female representation shrinking gender pay gaps cross-sectionally, if not always over time. 12  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/speeches  12  Chart 9: Median gender pay gap by occupation, sample average Gender pay gap, per cent 35  London  Other  30  25  20  15  10  5  0 Managers  Professional  Associate Administrative Skilled trades professionals  Male male  Personal service  Sales and customer  Process and plants  Elementary  Female female  Source: ONS Labour Force Survey and Bank of England calculations.