Geneva  - The pay gulf between the captains of industry and those performing the menial and administrative work is growing ever wider, according to an International Labour Organisation study.

The income of top bosses in the United States rose in real terms by an average of 45 per cent between 2003 and 2007, according to an ILO study published Thursday.

In Germany, top bosses' salaries last year were around 148 times higher than the country's average wage, said the Geneva-based organisation, which is affiliated to the United Nations.

While US bosses were getting their 45 per cent increase between 2003 and 2007, middle-income earners were getting 15 per cent more while the average working wage rose by only three per cent.

The study said that last year, US top bosses earned on average 520 times more than ordinary workers, while in 2003 it was 360 times more.

Dutch top bosses, too, were mentioned as earning three times more in 2007 than in 2003, seeing earnings go up on average from two million to six million dollars a year.

The ILO said the current global finance crisis only worsened the inequalities. The worldwide unemployment rate was meanwhile estimated at 6.1 per cent - and expected to rise. (dpa)