2026.08.1806:12:22UTC+00UK Wage Growth Above Estimates

In the UK, regular pay excluding bonuses rose 3.5% year-on-year to GBP 703 per week in the three months to June 2026, up from 3.4% in each of the previous two periods and in line with market expectations. This marked the fastest annual increase since the three months to February.

The acceleration was driven by the public sector, where pay growth picked up to 6.1% from 5.5%, the strongest rise since the three months to December 2025. By contrast, private sector wage growth edged down to 2.8% from 2.9%, the weakest pace since the three months to October 2020.

By industry, regular pay increased in wholesale, retail, hotels and restaurants (3.5%), manufacturing (2.8%), services (3.8%), and finance and business services (2.3%), but declined in construction (-0.1%).

After adjusting for inflation, real regular pay rose 0.5%, up from 0.3% in the previous period and representing the strongest real wage growth since the three months to December 2025.