UK Wage Growth Tops Estimates

2026-04-21 06:07 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Regular pay in the UK, excluding bonuses, rose 3.6% year-on-year to GBP 692 per week in the three months to February 2026, slowing from a 3.8% growth in the previous period but exceeding market expectations of 3.5%.

It was the weakest increase since the three months to November 2020, with private sector wages slowing slightly to 3.2% from 3.3%, the lowest since the three months to October 2020.

Also, public sector pay slowed to 5.2% from the prior 6.0%, the softest since early 2025.

By industry, annual gains were seen in wholesale, retail, hotels, and restaurants (4.2%), manufacturing (3.5%), services (3.7%), construction (0.5%), and finance and business services (2.4%).

Adjusted for inflation, real wages rose 0.2% in the three months to February, easing from a 0.2% gain in the previous period, the lowest since mid-2023.



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UK Wage Growth Tops Estimates
Regular pay in the UK, excluding bonuses, rose 3.6% year-on-year to GBP 692 per week in the three months to February 2026, slowing from a 3.8% growth in the previous period but exceeding market expectations of 3.5%. It was the weakest increase since the three months to November 2020, with private sector wages slowing slightly to 3.2% from 3.3%, the lowest since the three months to October 2020. Also, public sector pay slowed to 5.2% from the prior 6.0%, the softest since early 2025. By industry, annual gains were seen in wholesale, retail, hotels, and restaurants (4.2%), manufacturing (3.5%), services (3.7%), construction (0.5%), and finance and business services (2.4%). Adjusted for inflation, real wages rose 0.2% in the three months to February, easing from a 0.2% gain in the previous period, the lowest since mid-2023.
2026-04-21
UK Wage Growth Below Estimates
Regular pay in the UK, excluding bonuses, rose 3.8% year-on-year to GBP 690 per week in the three months to January 2026, slowing from a marginally revised 4.1% gain in the previous period and falling short of market expectations of 4%. It was the weakest increase since the three months to November 2020, with private sector wages slowing slightly to 3.3% from 3.4%, the lowest since late 2020. Also, public sector pay slowed to 5.9% from the prior 7.2%, the weakest since mid-2025. By industry, annual gains were seen in wholesale, retail, hotels, and restaurants (4.8%), manufacturing (3.9%), services (3.9%), construction (2.0%), and finance and business services (2.0%). Adjusted for inflation, real wages rose 0.4% in the three months to January, following a 0.5% gain in the previous period, the lowest since mid-2023.
2026-03-19
UK Wage Growth Eases to Near 4-Year Low
Regular pay in the UK, excluding bonuses, rose 4.2% year-on-year to GBP 691 per week in the three months to December 2025, slowing from a marginally revised 4.4% in the previous period and matching market forecasts. It was the weakest increase since the three months to January 2022, with private sector wages slowing to 3.4% from 3.6%, the lowest since late 2020. Meanwhile, public sector pay slowed to 7.2% from a record high of 7.9%. By industry, the strongest annual gains were seen in wholesale, retail, hotels, and restaurants (5.1%), followed by manufacturing (4.4%),, services (4.2%), construction (2.3%), and finance and business services (2.0%). Adjusted for inflation, real wages rose 0.5% in the three months to December, following a 06% gain in the previous two periods.
2026-02-17