Median monthly pay for June 2023 has been estimated at £2,308, a 9.7% increase from June 2022 and a 24.1% rise from February 2020, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Its latest labour market figures revealed this is an increase on the previous month, when median monthly pay stood at £2,270. Annual growth in median pay for employees in june was highest in the health and social work sector at 28.4%, and lowest in the transportation and storage sector at 5.3%. This reflects the pay settlement to NHS workers, which included a pay increase backdated to April and a one-off bonus worth at least £1,250 per employee.
The ONS also found there was strong regular pay growth at 7.3% year-on-year in the three months to May, unchanged from the previous month. The single-month figure for May fell from 7.7% to 7.1%, which is lower than April’s 9.7% increase following the rise in the national living wage.
Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “While the total number of vacancies remain high, it has now been falling for a year and the pace of decline has accelerated recently. Pay excluding bonuses has again risen at record levels in cash terms. Due to high inflation, however, the real value of weekly earnings are still falling, although now at its slowest rate since the end of 2021.”
John Pearce, senior vice president of payroll operations at CloudPay, added: “With the cost of living still increasing and inflation rates remaining stubbornly high, pay increases aren’t going to be sustainable for all. We believe a balance needs to be struck where employees are paid fairly but are also given access to benefits and financial education or advice that provides more than pay support.
“It’s clear that people are struggling to make their wages go further and there needs to be additional help in place that is driven by employers to enable them to access tailored financial advice during these difficult times. Businesses need a smarter approach, and that includes flexibility around pay and financial education.”