The median pay increase in the private sector fell slightly from 3.5% to 3.4% in the three months to April 2025 according to Incomes Data Research (IDR).
Its latest pay settlement figures are based on a sample of 129 awards between 1 February and 30 April, covering more than 1.3 million workers mostly at large organisations.
The median for the wider economy held at 3.2%, 0.2 percentage points lower than the private sector.
The proportion of private sector pay rises worth 6% or more grew from 2% in March to 11%, largely a result of the national living wage increase which rose to £12.21 in April.
The number of increases worth 5% or more accounted for 24% of all outcomes, up from one in 10 in the three months to March. Meanwhile, the number of awards worth between 4% and 4.99% halved to 12% last month. Increases worth between 3% and 3.99% dropped to 32% from 47% in the three months to March.
The private services median pay award rose from 3.2% to 3.3% and the upper quartile increased from 4% in March to 4.6%. This was influenced by a larger proportion of high-end pay increases worth 6% or more in April, up from 5% in March to 12%.
Outcomes in manufacturing and production are unchanged since March, with the median remaining at 3.5% and the interquartile range remaining between 3% and 4%. A total of 47% of increases were in the 3% to 3.99% bracket, up from 45% in March. The proportion of increases worth 5% or more grew from 11% to 30% in the three months to April, which caused the average pay outcome to rise from 3.6% to 3.9%.
Zoe Woolacott, senior pay researcher at IDR, said: “The national living wage has a less direct impact in manufacturing, compared to private services. However, manufacturing employers still face pressures to offer competitive rates of pay in order to recruit and retain staff.”
