PRESS ASSOCIATION -- Workers in the financial sector enjoyed average bonuses of £12,500 last year as pay-outs showed little sign of falling despite efforts to curb City excesses, according to official figures.
The financial and insurance sector paid out bonuses worth £14 billion in the year to the end of March - the same as the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The sector accounts for 40% of the bonuses paid throughout the country despite employing just 4% of the workforce.
A slight rise in the number of people employed in the sector meant that the average bonus pocketed by employees dropped by just £100.
This compares with people working in health and social care sectors, whose bonuses were "negligible".
The Treasury earlier this year thrashed out Project Merlin agreements with the biggest banks in a bid to curb the bonus culture which helped create the financial crisis by encouraging bankers to take risks.