UK advertised salaries have dropped by 9,500 since October.

According to recruitment website Allthetopbananas.com, the average advertised salary in the UK is £31,696 compared with £41,397 last month.

The area with the highest average advertised salary is, unsurprisingly, London at £38,504 and the lowest is East Midland at £25,954.

Dave Martin, managing director of Allthetopbananas.com, said: "Every day there is extra evidence that the country is heading for tough economic times and here is more. After 12 months of strong growth with a slight levelling off of figures last month, it is a shock to see a dramatic drop like this.

"These are tough times to be an employee. Unemployment and redundancies are up, and average advertised salaries have dropped sharply.

"It could be employers know there are more people competing for jobs and are cutting their cloth accordingly."