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.

From April 2025 onwards, the UK's main national minimum wage category, the national living wage, will rise to ***** pounds per hour, up from ***** pounds per hour in the previous financial year. This amount will apply to workers aged 21 and over, compared with 2022 and 2023 when it was only for workers aged 23 and over, and for those aged 25 and over between 2016 and 2021. The main minimum wage from 2010 to 2015 was the 21+ rate, and 22+ rate between 1999 and 2009. Evolution of the minimum wage Since its introduction in 1999, the minimum wage has had various rate categories, usually based on age. For the first five years, there were two categories, one for workers 18 to 21, and another for workers aged 22 and over. In 2004, a minimum wage for under 18s was introduced, and between 2010 and 2015 there were three rates based on age, and one for apprenticeships. Another age based-rate was added in 2016, but from 2024 onwards, the model will revert to four rate categories overall. In addition to the legal minimum wage, there is also a voluntary real living wage, which for 2024/25 is **** pounds per hour, rising to ***** pounds per hour for workers in London. Wages continue to outpace inflation in 2024 Since July 2023, wages have grown faster than inflation in the UK with December 2024 seeing regular weekly earnings grow by *** percent, compared with the CPI inflation rate of *** percent that month. For almost two years between November 2021 and June 2023, wage growth struggled to keep up with inflation, with the biggest gap occurring in October 2022 when inflation peaked at **** percent. The fall in real earnings in one of the most important factors in the UK's ongoing cost of living crisis. At the height of the crisis, around ** percent of UK households were reporting a monthly increase in their cost of living, with this falling to ** percent by March 2024.

For workers under the age of **, the national minimum wage in the United Kingdom is **** British pounds per hour as of April 2025. This is an increase of **** pounds when compared with 2024 when the minimum wage for this age group was **** pounds. This particular minimum wage category was ***** pounds when it was first introduced in 2004, five years after the launch of the minimum age for workers aged 19 or over. Minimum wage rates history In 1999, when the UK minimum wage was first introduced, there were two different wage rates; one for those aged 18 to 21, and another for those aged 22 or over. These two rates were joined by an under ** rate in 2004, and then in 2010 the minimum wage was reorganized to include a rate for apprentice workers, while the top rate was increased to include workers aged 21. As of 2025, after several further waves of reorganization, there are **** different wage categories. For workers aged 21 and over, the minimum hourly wage is ***** pounds, falling to *** pounds for ** to 20-year-olds, and 7.55 pounds for under 18s and apprentices. Wages continue growing in 2025 As of January 2025, weekly wages were growing by approximately *** percent, the twentieth-consecutive month of wage growth following a long period of wages falling. High inflation throughout 2022 and 2023, meant that prices were rising faster than pay for a long twenty-month period between ************* and *********. With inflation down, and wages still growing, there are hopeful signs the UK might be over the worst of the Cost of Living Crisis, ongoing since late 2021. As of **********, however, almost ** percent of UK households were still reporting an increase in their living costs, relative to the previous month.

Minimum Wages in the United Kingdom increased to 12.21 GBP/Hour in 2025 from 11.44 GBP/Hour in 2024. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Minimum Wages - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Number of UK jobs paid below minimum wage by sex, age, occupation and industry, and region, annual estimates, 1998 to 2023. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

The voluntarily paid living wage in the United Kingdom for 2024/25 is 12.6 pounds per hour, with this rising to 13.85 pounds per hour for workers in London. For the same year the legal minimum wage for those over the age of 21 was 11.44 pounds per hour.

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.

Annual Wage Structure Survey: Percentage of workers in terms of their earnings as compared with the Interprofessional Minimum Wage (IMW) (in relation to total workers), by type of working day and sex. Annual. National.

United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 21 to 24 data was reported at 7.700 GBP in Mar 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 7.700 GBP for Dec 2019. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 21 to 24 data is updated quarterly, averaging 7.215 GBP from Jun 2016 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.700 GBP in Mar 2020 and a record low of 6.700 GBP in Sep 2016. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 21 to 24 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Work and Pensions. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G047: National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate.

The story will look at how pay has changed in the UK since 1986, comparing increases for the lowest and highest paid. It will look at changes since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage and also the impact of recessions over the period. It will also show the types of jobs that pay the most as well as differences across the regions of the UK.

Source agency: Office for National Statistics

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Earnings in the UK over the past 25 years

Every year between 2013 and 2021, employees from the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group had the lowest average hourly pay out of all ethnic groups.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Apprenticeship Pay Survey, 2014 was carried out by IFF Research on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and involved 9,367 telephone interviews with apprentices in Great Britain. Apprenticeships are a structured programme of training, consisting of paid employment and learning, which give people the opportunity to work for an employer, learn on the job, build up knowledge and skills, and gain recognised qualifications within a specific occupation or trade. Apprenticeships are administered by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) in England, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) in Scotland and the Welsh Government (WG) in Wales.

The National Minimum Wage is the minimum pay per hour almost all workers in the UK are entitled to by law. As well as separate minimum rates for those aged under 18, 18-20 and 21 or over, there is a distinct National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those aged 19 or over who are in their first year of the Apprenticeship (all other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage for their age). At the time the survey was conducted The National Minimum Wage rate per hour for apprentices was £2.68 for those aged 16-18 or in the first year of their Apprenticeship, £5.03 for those in their second year or later and aged 19-20, and £6.31 for those in their second year or later and aged 21 and over.

The main aim of this survey was to provide an accurate and up-to-date picture of the pay of the apprentice population, both across Great Britain, and within England, Scotland and Wales, in order to assist with development and monitoring of Apprenticeship and National Minimum Wage policy. For example, evidence from the Apprenticeship Pay Survey contributes to the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to Government for the Apprenticeship minimum wage rate.

Further information is available from the Apprenticeship Pay Survey, 2014 webpage.

The Apprenticeship Pay Survey was also conducted in 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2012, but only data from 2014 onwards are available from the UK Data Service. The 2016 survey is held under SN 8204, which also includes a combined 2014 and 2016 file.


Main Topics:

The research was conducted with Apprentices across Great Britain. Specifically, the survey sought to establish:

• the wages employers are paying apprentices
• the number of hours apprentices spend working and undertaking training, in order to establish their hourly wage rates
• the range of wage rates and differences by type of apprentice, for example by gender, age, framework, ethnicity, disability, level, number of years since starting the programme and prior employment status

Wages for regular pay in the United Kingdom grew by approximately five percent in May 2025, although when adjusted for inflation, wages for regular pay only grew in real terms by 1.1 percent. 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 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 in 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.

Standard of Monthly Minimum Wage: Yunnan data was reported at 2,070.000 RMB in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,990.000 RMB for 2023. Standard of Monthly Minimum Wage: Yunnan data is updated yearly, averaging 1,495.000 RMB from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2024, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,070.000 RMB in 2024 and a record low of 350.000 RMB in 2005. Standard of Monthly Minimum Wage: Yunnan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Labour Market – Table CN.GC: Standard of Monthly Minimum Wage.

Annual Wage Structure Survey: Percentage of workers according to their earnings regarding the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI in Spanish) (regarding the earning interval) by type of working day and sex. Annual. National.

This Report looks at changes in earnings in the UK over the past forty years. It makes use of distributional and cohort analysis to assess the impact of the recession on earnings as well as looking at the impact of the introduction of the national minimum wage.

Source agency: Office for National Statistics

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: UK Wages Over the Past Four Decades

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Apprenticeship Pay Survey, 2014 was carried out by IFF Research on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and involved 9,367 telephone interviews with apprentices in Great Britain. Apprenticeships are a structured programme of training, consisting of paid employment and learning, which give people the opportunity to work for an employer, learn on the job, build up knowledge and skills, and gain recognised qualifications within a specific occupation or trade. Apprenticeships are administered by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) in England, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) in Scotland and the Welsh Government (WG) in Wales. The National Minimum Wage is the minimum pay per hour almost all workers in the UK are entitled to by law. As well as separate minimum rates for those aged under 18, 18-20 and 21 or over, there is a distinct National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those aged 19 or over who are in their first year of the Apprenticeship (all other apprentices are entitled to the National Minimum Wage for their age). At the time the survey was conducted The National Minimum Wage rate per hour for apprentices was £2.68 for those aged 16-18 or in the first year of their Apprenticeship, £5.03 for those in their second year or later and aged 19-20, and £6.31 for those in their second year or later and aged 21 and over. The main aim of this survey was to provide an accurate and up-to-date picture of the pay of the apprentice population, both across Great Britain, and within England, Scotland and Wales, in order to assist with development and monitoring of Apprenticeship and National Minimum Wage policy. For example, evidence from the Apprenticeship Pay Survey contributes to the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to Government for the Apprenticeship minimum wage rate. Further information is available from the Apprenticeship Pay Survey, 2014 webpage. The Apprenticeship Pay Survey was also conducted in 2005, 2007, 2011 and 2012, but only data from 2014 onwards are available from the UK Data Service. The 2016 survey is held under SN 8204, which also includes a combined 2014 and 2016 file. Main Topics: The research was conducted with Apprentices across Great Britain. Specifically, the survey sought to establish:the wages employers are paying apprenticesthe number of hours apprentices spend working and undertaking training, in order to establish their hourly wage ratesthe range of wage rates and differences by type of apprentice, for example by gender, age, framework, ethnicity, disability, level, number of years since starting the programme and prior employment status

United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Apprentice data was reported at 3.900 GBP in Mar 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 3.900 GBP for Dec 2019. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Apprentice data is updated quarterly, averaging 3.300 GBP from Mar 2010 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 41 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.900 GBP in Mar 2020 and a record low of 2.500 GBP in Dec 2010. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Apprentice data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Department for Work and Pensions. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.G047: National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate.

China Standard of Monthly Minimum Wage data was reported at 1,060.000 RMB in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 870.000 RMB for 2010. China Standard of Monthly Minimum Wage data is updated yearly, averaging 641.000 RMB from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2011, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,060.000 RMB in 2011 and a record low of 367.500 RMB in 2005. China Standard of Monthly Minimum Wage data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Labour Market – Table CN.GC: Standard of Monthly Minimum Wage.

United Kingdom Minimum Wage Couple Net Childcare Costs was up 53.9points in 2019, from a year earlier.