The average bonuses paid out by the two sectors in the year to April was £1500 lower than the previous 12 months, the Office for National Statistics found.But they dwarfed the payouts in the economy as a whole, where the average bonus was £1400.

The City windfalls accounted for 36% of the £37 billion of bonuses across the economy, even though just 4% of total employees work in the finance and insurance industry.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: "It is a disgrace that the lure of big bonuses fuelled the recession and yet yesterday's figures show finance workers still bringing home more in bonuses than many public service workers get paid in a year."

David Hillman, spokesman for the Robin Hood Tax campaign for a tax on financial transactions, commented: "If the banks can afford to pay out such large sums, they can surely also afford to make a bigger contribution towards putting right the damage they've caused to our economy and society."