UK real pay growth

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), series A3WW. Monthly, usually a Tuesday in the middle of the month, 7am (ONS labour market release); next release 20 October 2026

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What it measures

Real pay growth shows how much average weekly earnings have risen after allowing for inflation: whether pay is buying more or less than a year earlier. The ONS calculates it by adjusting average weekly earnings for consumer prices using CPIH, its lead inflation measure. The headline shown is for total pay including bonuses, as an annual growth rate of the three-month average. A positive figure means pay has grown faster than prices; a negative figure means prices have grown faster. See real terms in the glossary.

How to read it

Real pay growth is roughly cash pay growth minus inflation, so it moves when either changes. In its September 2026 release the ONS gave real growth of 0.6% for regular pay and 0.9% for total pay for May to July 2026 using CPIH, and also published figures using CPI, which can differ. Claims that "wages are rising faster than inflation" should name the inflation index and the pay measure. Because these are averages across all employees, they do not show what happened to any one group; for that, use the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. See how to compare cash and real terms.

Background

The ONS real average weekly earnings growth series starts in 2001. In the series, real total pay growth was lowest, at minus 5.5%, in early 2009 and highest, at 6.8%, in spring 2021, when the comparison was with a period of furlough. The ONS publishes the real level of average weekly pay in pounds at constant prices (series A3WX), which shows how far average real pay has changed over longer periods.

Other parts of the UK

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (pay by region and local area)

Are real wages higher than before the 2008 financial crisis?

The ONS publishes real average weekly earnings in pounds at constant prices (series A3WX), which you can use to compare today's level with any earlier month. Its labour market bulletins sometimes comment on how current real pay compares with past peaks. Check the latest series rather than an older headline, because the deflator and base year are updated.

Which inflation measure is used to calculate real pay?

The ONS uses CPIH, which includes owner occupiers' housing costs and council tax, for its headline real pay figures. It also publishes real pay adjusted by CPI in a supplementary dataset. The two can differ by a few tenths of a percentage point, so a claim about real wages should say which measure it used.

Why can real pay rise when people feel worse off?

Real average weekly earnings is an average across all employees and uses a general price index. Households spend different shares on rent, energy or food, so their own inflation rate can differ from CPIH, and pay before tax does not show changes in tax or benefits. The ONS publishes household income statistics that account for taxes and benefits.

Related questions

• Are wages rising faster than inflation in the UK?
• What is the average salary in the UK?
• What is the difference between CPI, CPIH and RPI?

More on this source: UK poverty and household income statistics (DWP, ONS, DESNZ, Low Pay Commission and devolved governments)