Average regular pay for employees in Great Britain, excluding bonuses, increased by 0.4% in real terms between January to March 2017 and January to March 2018, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Its UK labour market: May 2018 report also found that total pay, including bonuses, was unchanged in real terms, that is, adjusted for consumer price inflation, between January to March 2017 and January to March 2018.
In nominal terms, in other words not adjusted for consumer price inflation, total pay increased by 2.6% between January to March 2017 and January to March 2018. This is lower than the 2.8% growth rate recorded between December 2016 to February 2017 and December 2017 to February 2018.
Regular pay, in nominal terms, has increased by 2.9% between January to March 2017 and January to March 2018. This is compared to a 2.8% growth rate between December 2016 to February 2017 and December 2017 to February 2018.
Average total pay, including bonuses, was £515 a week in nominal terms, before tax and other deductions from pay, for employees in Great Britain in March 2018. This compares to £503 a week in March 2017. Average regular pay, excluding bonuses, was £484 a week for British employees in March 2018, before tax and other deductions from pay. This compares to £470 a week in March 2017.
In real terms, average total pay for employees in Great Britain was £489 a week in March 2018, before tax and other deductions from pay. Average regular pay in real terms, excluding bonus payments, was £460 a week in March 2018, before tax and other deductions from pay.
Average total pay for employees in Great Britain, in nominal terms, increased by 36.8% between January 2005 and March 2018, rising from £376 a week to £515 a week. Over the same time period, the Consumer Prices Index, including occupiers’ housing costs, increased by 34.2%.
Gerwyn Davies, senior labour market analyst at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), said: “Regular pay has edged up slightly, suggesting that skill and labour shortages are starting to put pressure on employers to raise wages. However, the combination of strong jobs growth and weaker economic growth means that the productivity revival is in danger of fizzling out yet again, which may dampen wage growth in the months to come.”