Earnings and working hours

Average weekly earnings of people in the UK and information on the gender pay gap and low pay. Data from Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE).

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AWE: Whole Economy Year on Year Three Month Average Growth (%): Seasonally Adjusted Total Pay Excluding Arrears

Year on year 3 months average

4.2 %

2021 NOV

Release date:: 18 January 2022
Next release:: 15 Feburary 2022

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Employee earnings in the UK: 2021

What's in the bulletin?

Median weekly pay for full-time employees was £611 in April 2021, up 4.3% on a year earlier; this growth is the highest since 2008.
Across all jobs, median weekly earnings in April 2021 increased by 5.3% from a year earlier on a nominal basis; when adjusted for inflation, they increased 3.6% in real terms over the year; between April 2019 and April 2020 they remained unchanged in nominal terms and decreased by 0.9% in real terms.
Pay increased for most workers in 2021, but particularly those that were most affected by the pandemic in 2020, most notably younger employees, men and the lowest-paid occupations.

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UK economy latest

A roundup of the latest data and analysis on the UK economy, business and jobs following Brexit and during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Time series related to Earnings and working hours

AWE: Whole Economy Year on Year Three Month Average Growth (%): Seasonally Adjusted Total Pay Excluding Arrears

Year on year 3 months average

4.2 % 2021 NOV

Release date:

18 January 2022

Next release:

15 Feburary 2022
AWE: Whole Economy Level (£): Seasonally Adjusted Total Pay Excluding Arrears

£ 588 2021 NOV

Release date:

18 January 2022

Next release:

15 Feburary 2022
AWE: Whole Economy Year on Year Three Month Average Growth (%): Seasonally Adjusted Regular Pay Excluding Arrears

Year on year 3 months average

3.8 % 2021 NOV

Release date:

18 January 2022

Next release:

15 Feburary 2022
AWE: Whole Economy Level (£): Seasonally Adjusted Regular Pay Excluding Arrears

£ 550 2021 NOV

Release date:

18 January 2022

Next release:

15 Feburary 2022
Average actual weekly hours of work for full-time workers (seasonally adjusted)

35.8 hours 2021 SEP-NOV

Release date:

18 January 2022

Next release:

15 Feburary 2022

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Datasets related to Earnings and working hours

EARN01: Average weekly earnings

Average Weekly Earnings (AWE), seasonally adjusted. This spreadsheet includes the headline estimates of earnings growth based on the Monthly Wages and Salaries Survey.
Average weekly earnings time series

This dataset contains series for Average Weekly Earnings (AWE).
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings time series of selected estimates

Selected annual estimates of earnings and paid hours worked by UK employees using ASHE data from 1997 to 2021.
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) - Guide to tables

Guide to ASHE results tables.
Gender pay gap

Annual gender pay gap estimates for UK employees by age, occupation, industry, full-time and part-time, region and other geographies, and public and private sector. Compiled from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
Index of Labour Costs per Hour, seasonally adjusted

Index of Labour Costs per Hour (ILCH) values and yearly and quarterly growth for industries and sectors, seasonally adjusted, UK.

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Publications related to Earnings and working hours

Statistical bulletins

Employee earnings in the UK: 2021

Measures of employee earnings, using data from the Annual Survey for Hours and Earnings (ASHE).
Gender pay gap in the UK: 2021

Differences in pay between women and men by age, region, full-time and part-time, and occupation.
Low and high pay in the UK: 2021

The distribution of hourly earnings of high-paid and low-paid jobs and jobs paid below the National Minimum Wage.
Index of Labour Costs per Hour, UK: July to September 2020

Changes in the costs of employing labour, analysed by sector and industry. Experimental Statistics.
Average weekly earnings in Great Britain: January 2022

Estimates of growth in earnings for employees before tax and other deductions from pay.
Earnings and employment from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information, UK: January 2022

Experimental monthly estimates of payrolled employees and their pay from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) data. This is a joint release between HMRC and the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

View all related statistical bulletins

Articles

Coronavirus (COVID-19) roundup

Catch up on the latest data and analysis related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impact on our economy and society.
National Living Wage earners fall short of average family spending

The National Living Wage is about to go up to £7.83 per hour – but how easy is it to live on? Our calculator lets you find out how affordable your lifestyle would be if you earned the National Living Wage.
London had the smallest gender pay gap 20 years ago, but now it has the largest

The pay gap between men and women working in London has barely changed in over two decades, new ONS analysis shows.
How do the jobs men and women do affect the gender pay gap?

Women are more likely than men to work in low-paid sectors, but even in roles dominated by women they often earn less.
New methods for monthly earnings and employment estimates from Pay As You Earn Real Time Information (PAYE RTI) data

An article explaining the methods used to derive monthly employee and earnings estimates from Pay as You Earn Real Time Information (PAYE RTI) administrative data. The article also includes comparisons with ONS’s official sources of Labour Market data.

Earnings and working hours

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