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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

These data show number of people in employment who earn at least the real living wage for the UK countries/English regions. The data relate to both full-time and part-time employees who are on permanent contracts or on temporary contracts and not seeking permanent employment. Area relates to the location of workplace, not the residence of the employee. More information on the real living wage can be found below: https://www.livingwage.org.uk/what-real-living-wage

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.

This statistic displays the national minimum wage and national living wage per hour as of October 2018, with forecasts for 2019 through to 2023. In 2018, there was a difference of ** pence per hour between the hourly national minimum and national living wage. This gap was expected to grow to ** pence per hour by 2023.

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.

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.

Since 2006 the GLA Group has been implementing the London Living Wage (LLW).The Group continues to include the LLW as a requirement for contracts that are let or renewed.

We calculate the Living Wage by a combination of two approaches. The first, developed by the Family Budget Unit (FBU), estimates the costs of a ‘Low Cost but Acceptable’ (LCA) budget for a selection of households and calculates the wage required to meet these costs. This is termed the “Basic Living Costs” approach. The second – the “Income Distribution” approach – simply identifies the median income for London (appropriately weighted for 11 household types) and then takes 60 per cent of it.

The Mayor continues to lobby national Government to adopt the London Living Wage across Whitehall.

All annual living wage reports, titled 'A Fairer London', can be found on the GLA website.

Annual estimates of the number and proportion of UK jobs paying below various 10 pence thresholds and the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, by employee age group, from 1998 to 2023.

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.

Annual estimates of paid hours worked and earnings for UK employees by sex, and full-time and part-time, by home-based region to local and unitary authority level.

Between April 2008 and March 2024, households from the Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic groups were the most likely to live in low income out of all ethnic groups, before and after housing costs.

Average weekly earnings for the whole economy, for total and regular pay, in real terms (adjusted for consumer price inflation), UK, monthly, seasonally adjusted.

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

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