It's grim up north, if you don't work in the oil industry that is.

There is mounting evidence that the 60 per cent of the north-east's population who don't work and live in the oil bubble are at serious economic and social disadvantage.

Salaries in the oil and gas sector are soaring. A cursory trawl of recruitment websites reveals monthly salaries around £10,000 for pipeline technicians and engineers. These salaries explain the monthly average of £4,300 across all jobs in the north-east, around £900 higher than the comparable Scottish average.

However, that grossly inflated average conceals huge disparities. It is two or three times what is earned in other jobs and there is a double whammy for those in non-oil jobs.

While their pay is pegged nationally at much lower levels, they still have to pay the inflated living costs generated by the oil industry. The most obvious impact is on housing. The average house price in the Aberdeen area has nearly doubled in 10 years. Rental costs have also soared, with a two-bedroom property commanding around £1,100 a month.

The recent opening of a massive oil-related business park on Aberdeen's western edge sent property and rental prices through the roof in nearby suburbs.

The impact of salary levels in the oil industry is felt in areas other than housing. The Numbeo website comparing living costs in different cities estimates the weekly shop to be 17 per cent higher in Aberdeen than Glasgow. A meal in a restaurant will set you back around 30 per cent more. The website estimates that monthly living costs of £2,800 in Glasgow would be £3,400 in Aberdeen.

Not surprisingly, local councils and other organisations with nationally determined pay scales are experiencing acute recruitment difficulties that are impacting severely on services. Potential staff either find better-paid jobs or cannot afford to move into the area. Care is particularly problematical with councils and NHS increasingly dependent on foreign staff. Recruitment is a problem even in relatively well-paid jobs in the police and in schools.

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils have a strong case to put to Finance Secretary John Swinney for additional funding to offset the impact of oil industry pay on those who derive no benefit from its presence. Provision for an Aberdeen weighting for those in the public and health sectors would be a start.

However, that would still leave exposed those workers in other non-oil sectors and those living on a pension. While a levy on oil company profits for that purpose would be deeply unpopular, it would be socially responsible and just.

There is a misconception that the north east is a uniformly prosperous area. That may be reflected in the less than generous financial settlement that its two councils have received historically from the Scottish Government.

The vast revenues derived from the North Sea by the UK Government and indirectly by its Scottish counterpart have been subsidised by a sizeable proportion of the local population. It's time to redress the balance.