London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

UK annual pay data shows biggest rise since 2008

UK annual pay data shows biggest rise since 2008

Full-time earnings in Britain rose by the most since 2008 in April, up by 4.3% from a year earlier, although the government's furlough scheme and other distortions related to COVID-19 probably pushed up growth, official data showed on Tuesday.
The Office for National Statistics' annual earnings survey is normally the gold standard of British labour market data, covering many more workers than its monthly figures.

But both series have been affected by the government's furlough programme - under which millions of workers had temporarily reduced pay rather than becoming unemployed - and the fact that job losses were concentrated among the low paid.

Tuesday's data paints a robust picture for pay growth that is similar to that of the monthly figures which the Bank of England is watching closely for signs of longer-term inflation pressures as it considers whether to raise interest rates next week.

Median full-time weekly pay in April of 611 pounds was 4.3% above its level a year earlier in cash terms and 1.7% higher after adjusting for inflation.

However, median full-time annual earnings in the 12 months to April were 0.6% lower than in 12 months to the end of April 2020 at 31,285 pounds ($43,023), reflecting lower pay during the pandemic.

"Pay increased for most workers in 2021, but particularly those that were most affected by the pandemic in 2020, most notably younger employees, men and the lowest-paid occupations," the ONS said.

Pay for 'elementary occupations' such as cleaning and labouring jobs rose by 7.7%, while pay for managers and directors showed no change.

Another factor pushing up pay at the bottom of the wage scale was a 2% rise in the minimum wage to 8.91 pounds an hour in April. The government announced on Monday a 6.6% rise in the minimum wage to 9.50 pounds an hour from April 2022.

Britain's gender pay gap - the difference between average hourly earnings for men and women - widened to 7.9% for full-time workers in April 2021 from 7.0% in April 2020, but was below its pre-pandemic level of 9.0% the ONS said.

The gender pay gap does not measure the difference in pay between men and women doing the same job, and nor does it adjust for differences in average qualifications, experience or the sectors men and women work in.

The gender pay gap stayed close to zero for full-time workers aged under 40, but older women were paid around 12% less than men of the same age. Previous analysis had linked this to fewer women than men moving into high-paid managerial roles, the ONS said.

($1 = 0.7272 pounds)
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×