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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Percentage of respondents in work earning less than the London Living Wage (LLW) taken from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earning (ASHE). Data is provided by whether the employee is male or female and works full-time or part-time. Data is also provided by borough. Also includes employees earning below the UK Living Wage by region outside London. The minimum wage levels in each year are stated in the table. This dataset is one of the Greater London Authority's measures of Economic Fairness. Click here to find out more.

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.

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

United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 25 & Over data was reported at 8.210 GBP in Mar 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 8.210 GBP for Dec 2019. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 25 & Over data is updated quarterly, averaging 7.665 GBP from Jun 2016 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 16 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.210 GBP in Mar 2020 and a record low of 7.200 GBP in Mar 2017. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 25 & Over 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.

Data for the tables and charts in the interim government evidence to the Low Pay Commission 2012. The data is from a range of sources and covers differing time periods. Refer to the published report for further information.

2014 data produced by the ONS

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.

United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 18 to 20 data was reported at 6.150 GBP in Mar 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 6.150 GBP for Dec 2019. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 18 to 20 data is updated quarterly, averaging 5.300 GBP from Mar 2010 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 41 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.150 GBP in Mar 2020 and a record low of 4.920 GBP in Dec 2010. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Age 18 to 20 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.

Salary pay scales for Council staff. Calderdale Council is a Living wage employer. This means that the Council will pay a wage supplement equal to the difference between the basic hourly rate within the job evaluation grading scheme and the Living wage rate in place at the time, as reviewed and approved from time to time by the Council. This rate is currently £9.30 per hour with effect from 1 April 2020. Note: there was no increase in salary in 2014. Also see other HR and Workforce related datasets.

United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Below Age 18 data was reported at 4.350 GBP in Mar 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 4.350 GBP for Dec 2019. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Below Age 18 data is updated quarterly, averaging 3.680 GBP from Mar 2005 (Median) to Mar 2020, with 61 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.350 GBP in Mar 2020 and a record low of 3.000 GBP in Dec 2005. United Kingdom National Minimum Wage: Hourly Rate: Below Age 18 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.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by four-digit Standard Industrial Classification 2007.

Since September 2015 Leicester City Council is accredited by the Living Wage Foundation (LWF) as a Living Wage Employer. We pay the LWF Living Wage to directly employed staff, including agency staff with placements greater than 8 weeks. We have also made a commitment to adopt the Living Wage in our supply chain, and as part of this we will publish a list of contracts, including suppliers' names, in which a LW condition has been included.

The median annual earnings in the United Kingdom was 37,430 British pounds per year in 2024. Annual earnings varied significantly by region, ranging from 47,455 pounds in London to 32,960 pounds in the North East. Along with London, two other areas of the UK had median annual earnings above the UK average; South East England, and Scotland, at 39,038 pounds and 38,315 pounds respectively. Regional Inequality in the UK Various other indicators highlight the degree of regional inequality in the UK, especially between London and the rest of the country. Productivity in London, as measured by output per hour, was 26.2 percent higher than the UK average. By comparison, every other UK region, except the South East, fell below the UK average for productivity. In gross domestic product per head, London was also an outlier. The average GDP per head in the UK was just over 37,000 pounds in 2023, but for London it was almost 64,000 pounds. Again, the South East's GDP per head was slightly above the UK average, with every other region below it. Within London itself, there is also a great degree of inequality. In 2023, for example, the average earnings in Kensington and Chelsea were 964 pounds per week, compared with 675 pounds in Barking and Dagenham. Wages continue to grow in 2025 In March 2025, weekly wages in the UK were growing by around 5.6 percent, or 1.8 percent when adjusted for inflation. For almost two years, wages have grown faster than inflation after a long period where prices were rising faster than wages between 2021 and 2023. This was due to a sustained period of high inflation in the UK, which peaked in October 2022 at 11.1 percent. Although inflation started to slow the following month, it wasn't until June 2023 that wages started to outpace inflation. By this point, the damage caused by high energy and food inflation had led to the the worst Cost of Living Crisis in the UK for a generation.

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.