Commons Briefing paper by Brigid Francis-Devine. It was first published on Wednesday, 18 March 2015. It was last updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2026.
Average earnings: Economic indicators
Economic indicators are quick-read summaries of the latest data focusing on different aspects of the UK economy. The full suite of indicators can be found on the main Economic Indicators page.
In April 2025 median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees in the UK were £767, up from £728 in April 2023. Adjusted for inflation, median earnings for full-time employees increased by 1.7%.
More recent but less detailed data shows average weekly earnings for all employees in Great Britain increased by 3.4% excluding bonuses in the three months to May 2026 compared with the previous year. Average weekly pay including bonuses increased by 4.3%.
Inflation as measured by the CPI averaged 3.0% over the same period. After adjusting for inflation, average pay excluding bonuses was 0.4% higher than the previous year and average pay including bonuses was 1.3% higher.

Trends by sector
Average weekly total pay (including bonuses, not adjusted for inflation) rose by 4.0% in the private sector and by 5.5% in the public sector in the three months to May 2026 compared with the year before.
Pay levels
Median hourly earnings (excluding overtime) were £19.67 for full-time employees at April 2025: £20.27 for men working full-time and £18.87 for women. Median hourly earnings (excluding overtime) were £14.11 for part-time employees; £13.85 for men and £14.25 for women. Women are more likely than men to work part-time.
Next updates
This page is updated when new data is published. The next source updates will be:
-
ONS, Labour Market Statistics, 21 July 2026
-
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, October 2026
Secondary information
- Type
- Research briefing
- Reference
- SN02795
- Category
- Economic indicators
- Subjects
- Employment Economic situation Average earnings
- Contains statistics
- Yes
- Published by
- Economic Policy and Statistics Section
- House of Commons Library
- Link
- View this Research briefing on researchbriefings.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-07-21 15:52:24 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/resources/340522
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/resources/340522
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/resources/340522
- Internal location
- http://researchbriefingsintranet.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/SN02795