Bradford has rocketed up the average earnings league table, it emerged today.

New analysis shows full-time men and women in the district earned an average £27,320 during 2008, compared to £23,471 in 2006.

The increase of nearly £4,000 in two years has propelled Bradford from 13th to 7th in the regional rankings of all 15 Yorkshire districts.

Although average earnings in Bradford remain 13 per cent below the national average, that is still an improvement on 2006 when the gap was 17 per cent.

However, the GMB Union, which carried out the analysis based on figures from the Office of National Statistics, has warned of harder times to come over the next year.

Regional secretary Tim Roache said: “Since these figures were taken, the credit crunch has given rise to a full-blown recession and the misery that that entails.

“We will see if average pay holds up in 2009.”

The latest Bradford figure is more than £1,000 lower than the neighbouring districts of Leeds (£28,505) and Calderdale (£28,454) but higher than Kirklees (£25,626).

The Bradford average is also slightly lower than the regional average for Yorkshire and Humber, which stands at £27,534. London, with average earnings of £46,462, topped the national list while York, with £31,604, was ahead in the regional list and above the national average.

Barnsley is bottom of the regional table, with £24,669. The position of 13th that was held by Bradford two years ago is now occupied by Kirklees.

The GMB said areas that had gone some way to replace the manufacturing jobs lost in the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s were faring better than areas that were still trying to do so.

The diversity of Bradford’s economy – the fact it no longer relies on one staple industry – is thought to be among the reasons for the area’s recent rise in the regional table.