UK Regular Pay Growth Above Forecasts

2026-10-20 06:23 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

UK regular pay, excluding bonuses, rose 3.7% year-on-year to GBP 707 per week in the three months to August 2026, up slightly from a marginally revised figure in the previous period and market expectations of 3.6%.

This marked the strongest annual growth since the three months to January, as private sector wage growth edged up to 3.0% from 2.9% in the previous three-month period, its fastest pace since the three months to April.

Meanwhile, public sector pay growth held steady at 6.3% for a second consecutive period, remaining at its highest rate since the three months to December 2025.

By industry, wage growth reached 3.1% in wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants; 2.9% in manufacturing; 3.9% in services; 3.3% in finance and business services; and 1.1% in construction.

After adjusting for inflation, real regular pay grew 0.6%, unchanged for a third consecutive period and remaining at its strongest pace since the three months to November 2025.



News Stream
UK Regular Pay Growth Above Forecasts
UK regular pay, excluding bonuses, rose 3.7% year-on-year to GBP 707 per week in the three months to August 2026, up slightly from a marginally revised figure in the previous period and market expectations of 3.6%. This marked the strongest annual growth since the three months to January, as private sector wage growth edged up to 3.0% from 2.9% in the previous three-month period, its fastest pace since the three months to April. Meanwhile, public sector pay growth held steady at 6.3% for a second consecutive period, remaining at its highest rate since the three months to December 2025. By industry, wage growth reached 3.1% in wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants; 2.9% in manufacturing; 3.9% in services; 3.3% in finance and business services; and 1.1% in construction. After adjusting for inflation, real regular pay grew 0.6%, unchanged for a third consecutive period and remaining at its strongest pace since the three months to November 2025.
2026-10-20
UK Regular Pay Growth Holds at 3.5%
UK regular pay, excluding bonuses, increased 3.5% year-on-year to GBP 705 per week in the three months to July 2026, maintaining the same pace as in the previous period and in line with market expectations. It remained the fastest annual growth since the three months to February, as public sector pay growth edged up to 6.3% from 6.2%, marking its strongest increase since the three months to December 2025. Meanwhile, private sector wage growth held steady at 2.9%, remaining at its slowest pace since the three months to October 2020. By industry, wages rose in wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants (3.1%), manufacturing (2.9%), services (3.8%), finance and business services (2.7%), and construction (0.3%). After adjusting for inflation, real regular pay increased by 0.6%, unchanged from the previous period and marking its strongest growth since the three months to November 2025.
2026-09-15
UK Wage Growth Above Estimates
UK regular pay, excluding bonuses, increased 3.5% year-on-year to GBP 703 per week in the three months to June 2026, following growth in the previous two periods of 3.4%, which was in line with market expectations. It was the fastest annual rise since the three months to February, as public sector pay accelerated to 6.1% from 5.5%, marking the strongest increase since the three months to December 2025. Meanwhile, private sector wage growth eased slightly to 2.8% from 2.9%, the slowest since the three months to October 2020. By industry, wages rose in wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants (3.5%), manufacturing (2.8%), services (3.8%), and finance and business services (2.3%), but declined in construction (-0.1%). After adjusting for inflation, real regular pay increased 0.5%, up from 0.3% in the prior period and pointing to the strongest growth since the three months to December 2025.
2026-08-18