Full-time workers in London earned an average salary of around 24 British pounds an hour, compared with workers in North East England, who only earned an average of 16.53 pounds an hour, the highest and lowest average hourly wages in the United Kingdom respectively.
In 2024, men in the United Kingdom had a higher average hourly full-time salary than women across most age groups, except for 16 to 17 when women had slightly higher earnings, and among those aged between 18 and 21, earnings were almost the same.
The median hourly earnings for full-time employees in the United Kingdom was 18.72 British pounds in 2024, compared with 17.48 pounds in the previous year. At the start of this provided time period, in 1997, the average hourly wage in the UK was 7.92 pounds per hour, rising to more than ten pounds per hour by 2003, and above 15 pounds per hour by 2020. Minimum and living wage in the UK In the United Kingdom, employers are expected to pay their employees a minimum wage that is determined by how old they are. Under 18s for example, had a minimum wage of 5.28 British pounds in 2023, with the figure increasing to 7.49 pounds those aged 18 to 20, 10.18 for 21 to 22 year old's, and 10.42 for those aged 23 and over. There is also a voluntarily paid living Wage that employers can choose to pay their workers. For the 2023/24 financial year this was twelve pounds an hour, rising to 13.15 pounds an hour for workers based in London. Icelandic the highest earners in Europe Iceland had the highest average annual wage in the Europe in 2022 at around 79,500 U.S dollars. This was followed by Luxembourg at 78,300 dollars, Switzerland at 72,990 and Belgium at 64,850 dollars. The United Kingdom’s average annual wage amounted to around 53,985 U.S dollars in the same year. In this year, the country with the lowest annual salary in Europe was Greece, at 25,980 pounds per year.
In 2024, the average full-time hourly wage for men in the United Kingdom was 19.36 British pounds per hour, compared with 17.89 pounds per hour for women.
The average hourly salary for full-time workers in the financial and insurance sector in the United Kingdom in 2022 was 25.19 pounds an hour, the most of any sector in that year. By contrast, workers in the accommodation and food service sector earned an average of 12.32 pounds an hour.
Female part-time workers in the United Kingdom earned an average of 13.37 British pounds an hour, while men earned 13 pounds an hour.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Gross weekly and hourly earnings by level of occupation, UK, quarterly, not seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.
The highest earning age group for full-time workers in the United Kingdom in 2024 were those aged between 40 and 49, with an average hourly salary of 21.44 British pounds an hour. By contrast, workers that were 16 to 17 earned just 8.59 pounds an hour, and were the lowest earning age group.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by work-based region to local and unitary authority level.
Wages in the United Kingdom grew by approximately 5.9 percent in January 2025, although when adjusted for inflation, wages only grew in real terms by 2.1 percent. When bonus pay is included in wage growth calculations, wages grew by 5.8 percent in nominal terms, and by 2.2 percent in real terms. Twenty months of inflation outpacing wages Between November 2021 and June 2023 inflation was higher than wage growth in the UK, resulting in falling real terms earnings throughout this 20-month period. While UK inflation peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022, it was not until April 2023 that it fell below double figures, and not until May 2024 that it reached the Bank of England's target of two percent. Forecasts from the Autumn 2024 budget predict that the annual UK inflation will for 2024 will be 2.5 percent, down from 7.3 percent in 2023 and 9.1 percent in 2022. Due to high inflation, the UK's minimum wage also rose quite significantly during this period, with the "main" rate increasing from 8.91 pounds per hour in 2021 to 12.21 pounds per hour for 2025. Average earnings and gender pay gap For full-time workers in the United Kingdom, the median average annual earnings was 37,430 British pounds in 2024, compared with 34,663 pounds in 2023. In London, average earnings were significantly higher than the rest of the country, at 47,455 pounds. Just two other areas of the United Kingdom, the South East and Scotland, had annual salaries above the UK average. North East England had the lowest average salary, at 32,960 pounds. As of 2024, the gender pay gap for median gross hourly earnings in the UK was 13.1 percent for all workers, falling to seven percent for full-time workers and -3 percent for part-time workers. Compared with 1997, when the gender pay gap was 27.5 percent for all workers, there has been a degree of progress, although, at current trends, it will be some time before the gap is closed entirely.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by two-digit Standard Industrial Classification 2007.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by region and two-digit Standard Industrial Classification 2007.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Wages in Manufacturing in the United Kingdom increased to 776 GBP/Week in January from 769 GBP/Week in December of 2024. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Average Weekly Wages in Manufacturing - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Annual estimates of paid hours worked, weekly, hourly and annual earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by region and four-digit Standard Occupational Classification.
In April 2025, the UK minimum wage for adults over the age of 21 in will be 12.21 pounds per hour. For the 2025/26 financial year, there will be four minimum wage categories, three of which are based on age and one for apprentice workers. Apprentices, and workers under the age of 18 will have a minimum wage of 7.55 pounds an hour, increasing to ten pounds for those aged 18 to 20. When the minimum wage was first introduced in 1999, there were just two age categories; 18 to 21, and 22 and over. This increased to three categories in 2004, four in 2010, and five between 2016 and 2023, before being reduced down to four in the most recent year. The living wage The living wage is an alternative minimum wage amount that employers in the UK can voluntarily pay their employees. It is calculated independently of the legal minimum wage and results in a higher value figure. In 2023/24, for example, the living wage was twelve pounds an hour for the UK as a whole and 13.15 for workers in London, where the cost of living is typically higher. This living wage is different from what the UK government has named the national living wage, which was 10.42 in the same financial year. Between 2011/12 and 2023/24, the living wage has increased by 4.80 pounds, while the London living wage has grown by 4.85 pounds. Wage growth cancelled-out by high inflation 2021-2023 For a long period between the middle of 2021 and late 2023, average wage growth in the UK was unable to keep up with record inflation levels, resulting in the biggest fall in disposable income since 1956. Although the UK government attempted to mitigate the impact of falling living standards through a series of cost of living payments, the situation has still been very difficult for households. After peaking at 11.1 percent in October 2022, the UK's inflation rate remained in double figures until March 2023, and did not fall to the preferred rate of two percent until May 2024. As of November 2024, regular weekly pay in the UK was growing by 5.6 percent in nominal terms, and 2.5 percent when adjusted for inflation.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Estimates of the number and proportion of UK employee jobs with hourly pay below the living wage, by region, work geography, local authority and Parliamentary constituency, as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Wages in the United Kingdom decreased to 711 GBP/Week in January from 712 GBP/Week in December of 2024. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Average Weekly Wages - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.
Open Government Licence 3.0http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
License information was derived automatically
Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by age group.
This table shows the average House Price/Earnings ratio, which is an important indicator of housing affordability. Ratios are calculated by dividing house price by the median earnings of a borough.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is based on a 1 per cent sample of employee jobs. Information on earnings and hours is obtained in confidence from employers. It does not cover the self-employed nor does it cover employees not paid during the reference period. Information is as at April each year. The statistics used are workplace based full-time individual earnings.
Pre-2013 Land Registry housing data are for the first half of the year only, so that they are comparable to the ASHE data which are as at April. This is no longer the case from 2013 onwards as this data uses house price data from the ONS House Price Statistics for Small Areas statistical release. Prior to 2006 data are not available for Inner and Outer London.
The lowest 25 per cent of prices are below the lower quartile; the highest 75 per cent are above the lower quartile.
The "lower quartile" property price/income is determined by ranking all property prices/incomes in ascending order.
The 'median' property price/income is determined by ranking all property prices/incomes in ascending order. The point at which one half of the values are above and one half are below is the median.
Regional data has not been published by DCLG since 2012. Data for regions has been calculated by the GLA. Data since 2014 has been calculated by the GLA using Land Registry house prices and ONS Earnings data.
Link to DCLG Live Tables
An interactive map showing the affordability ratios by local authority for 2013, 2014 and 2015 is also available.
Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Wages in the United Kingdom increased 5.80 percent in January of 2025 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Average Weekly Earnings Growth - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.
Full-time workers in London earned an average salary of around 24 British pounds an hour, compared with workers in North East England, who only earned an average of 16.53 pounds an hour, the highest and lowest average hourly wages in the United Kingdom respectively.