In the UK, regular pay excluding bonuses rose 3.4% year-on-year to GBP 697 per week in the three months to April 2026, unchanged from the pace recorded in March and above market expectations of 3.2%. Despite this upside surprise, it remained the weakest increase since the three months to October 2020. Private sector wage growth slowed to 2.9% from 3.1%, its lowest rate since the three months to October 2020, while public sector pay growth accelerated to 5.1% from 4.8%, which had previously marked the softest reading since late 2024.
By industry, annual pay gains were recorded in wholesale, retail, hotels, and restaurants (3.5%), manufacturing (3.1%), services (3.6%), and finance and business services (2.5%). In contrast, pay fell in the construction sector (-0.7%). After adjusting for inflation, real wages inched up 0.1% in the three months to April, matching the previous period and remaining at their lowest level since mid-2023.
