OFFICE juniors won bigger pay rises than secretaries and managers over the past year, new figures showed today.

Their pay rose by 4.1 per cent, almost twice as much as PAs, while office managers and junior secretaries saw their salaries remain "stagnant".

Average office pay rose by 1.7 per cent to £15,567 over the past year, but there were huge regional differences, with London office staff receiving a 7.5 per cent pay rise, compared with 0.4 per cent for those on the south coast.

Research by employment firm Adecco found that average office jobs in central London paid £26,909, almost twice as much as the average pay in Wales (£13,798).

"As more young people find themselves going into debt due to fee charges and limited funding in higher education, this year's findings show that employers are offering school leavers the chance to train on the job where they can grow and develop skills within business," said Richard MacMillan, managing director of Adecco UK.

"Workers with advanced IT skills and more than one European language are in demand in London and the South West."