Official monthly data

Real wages

ONS's own real-terms (CPIH-adjusted) earnings growth figure.

Real wages: latest evidence and sources

Latest ONS estimate

Regular pay rose by 0.6% in real terms (CPIH-adjusted) in Jun to Aug 2026.

Total pay, including bonuses, rose by 0.7% in real terms (CPIH-adjusted) over the same period.

Published 20 October 2026. Average weekly earnings are published on a provisional basis and remain subject to revision.

Latest observation

Annual earnings growth, adjusted for inflation using CPIH

Regular pay, real terms (CPIH-adjusted)
+0.6%
Excludes bonuses
Total pay, real terms (CPIH-adjusted)
+0.7%
Includes bonuses

Real earnings growth: recent rolling three-month periods

Three-month annual growth rates, adjusted for inflation using CPIH, from the ONS average weekly earnings bulletin's published history.

Jul to Sep 2016 to Jun to Aug 2026

Interactive chart unavailable without JavaScript. The published observation history is provided in the data table below.

The interactive chart requires JavaScript. Without it, the published figures remain available in the observation table below.

Latest published values for Jun to Aug 2026: Regular pay (real) 0.6%; Total pay (real) 0.7%

Observation window: Jul to Sep 2016 to Jun to Aug 2026.

Latest published values for Jun to Aug 2026: Regular pay (real): 0.6%; Total pay (real): 0.7%

Vertical axis: -4% to 8%; bounds fitted to these observations, not zero-based.

Regular pay (real)Total pay (real)Marked dates: known UK events, for reference only
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Real earnings growth: recent rolling three-month periods. Three-month annual growth rates, adjusted for inflation using CPIH, from the ONS average weekly earnings bulletin's published history. Published observations from Jul to Sep 2016 to Jun to Aug 2026.
PeriodObserved atRegular pay (real)Total pay (real)
Jul to Sep 20162016-09-301.3%1.4%
Aug to Oct 20162016-10-311.3%1.3%
Sep to Nov 20162016-11-301.3%1.3%
Oct to Dec 20162016-12-311.0%0.9%
Nov to Jan 20172017-01-310.6%0.4%
Dec to Feb 20172017-02-280.0%0.1%
Jan to Mar 20172017-03-31-0.3%0.1%
Feb to Apr 20172017-04-30-0.6%-0.2%
Mar to May 20172017-05-31-0.5%-0.5%
Apr to Jun 20172017-06-30-0.5%-0.4%
May to Jul 20172017-07-31-0.4%-0.3%
Jun to Aug 20172017-08-31-0.4%-0.3%
Jul to Sep 20172017-09-30-0.4%-0.4%
Aug to Oct 20172017-10-31-0.4%-0.2%
Sep to Nov 20172017-11-30-0.4%-0.3%
Oct to Dec 20172017-12-31-0.3%-0.2%
Nov to Jan 20182018-01-31-0.2%-0.2%
Dec to Feb 20182018-02-280.1%0.0%
Jan to Mar 20182018-03-310.3%0.1%
Feb to Apr 20182018-04-300.5%0.3%
Mar to May 20182018-05-310.4%0.4%
Apr to Jun 20182018-06-300.4%0.3%
May to Jul 20182018-07-310.5%0.4%
Jun to Aug 20182018-08-310.7%0.6%
Jul to Sep 20182018-09-300.9%0.8%
Aug to Oct 20182018-10-311.0%1.1%
Sep to Nov 20182018-11-301.1%1.2%
Oct to Dec 20182018-12-311.3%1.3%
Nov to Jan 20192019-01-311.5%1.2%
Dec to Feb 20192019-02-281.5%1.3%
Jan to Mar 20192019-03-311.5%1.3%
Feb to Apr 20192019-04-301.5%1.4%
Mar to May 20192019-05-311.7%1.7%
Apr to Jun 20192019-06-302.0%2.1%
May to Jul 20192019-07-311.9%2.1%
Jun to Aug 20192019-08-311.9%1.9%
Jul to Sep 20192019-09-301.8%2.0%
Aug to Oct 20192019-10-311.8%1.6%
Sep to Nov 20192019-11-301.7%1.6%
Oct to Dec 20192019-12-311.7%1.2%
Nov to Jan 20202020-01-311.5%1.3%
Dec to Feb 20202020-02-291.3%0.9%
Jan to Mar 20202020-03-311.0%0.5%
Feb to Apr 20202020-04-300.4%-0.4%
Mar to May 20202020-05-31-0.3%-1.2%
Apr to Jun 20202020-06-30-0.9%-1.8%
May to Jul 20202020-07-31-0.6%-1.7%
Jun to Aug 20202020-08-310.2%-0.6%
Jul to Sep 20202020-09-301.2%0.7%
Aug to Oct 20202020-10-312.1%2.1%
Sep to Nov 20202020-11-302.8%3.0%
Oct to Dec 20202020-12-313.2%3.8%
Nov to Jan 20212021-01-313.5%3.9%
Dec to Feb 20212021-02-283.5%3.6%
Jan to Mar 20212021-03-313.6%3.2%
Feb to Apr 20212021-04-304.4%4.5%
Mar to May 20212021-05-314.9%5.8%
Apr to Jun 20212021-06-305.2%6.8%
May to Jul 20212021-07-314.6%6.2%
Jun to Aug 20212021-08-313.5%4.7%
Jul to Sep 20212021-09-302.3%3.1%
Aug to Oct 20212021-10-311.1%1.7%
Sep to Nov 20212021-11-300.2%0.6%
Oct to Dec 20212021-12-31-0.5%0.5%
Nov to Jan 20222022-01-31-0.7%0.4%
Dec to Feb 20222022-02-28-0.7%1.0%
Jan to Mar 20222022-03-31-0.9%1.7%
Feb to Apr 20222022-04-30-1.8%0.6%
Mar to May 20222022-05-31-2.4%-0.8%
Apr to Jun 20222022-06-30-2.8%-2.5%
May to Jul 20222022-07-31-2.7%-2.5%
Jun to Aug 20222022-08-31-2.7%-2.3%
Jul to Sep 20222022-09-30-2.7%-2.6%
Aug to Oct 20222022-10-31-2.6%-2.6%
Sep to Nov 20222022-11-30-2.5%-2.5%
Oct to Dec 20222022-12-31-2.5%-2.9%
Nov to Jan 20232023-01-31-2.3%-2.7%
Dec to Feb 20232023-02-28-2.2%-2.7%
Jan to Mar 20232023-03-31-1.9%-2.5%
Feb to Apr 20232023-04-30-1.2%-1.8%
Mar to May 20232023-05-31-0.6%-1.1%
Apr to Jun 20232023-06-300.1%0.5%
May to Jul 20232023-07-310.6%1.2%
Jun to Aug 20232023-08-311.1%1.4%
Jul to Sep 20232023-09-301.3%1.4%
Aug to Oct 20232023-10-311.3%1.3%
Sep to Nov 20232023-11-301.5%1.5%
Oct to Dec 20232023-12-311.7%1.5%
Nov to Jan 20242024-01-311.8%1.6%
Dec to Feb 20242024-02-291.8%1.8%
Jan to Mar 20242024-03-311.9%1.8%
Feb to Apr 20242024-04-302.2%2.1%
Mar to May 20242024-05-312.5%2.3%
Apr to Jun 20242024-06-302.6%1.8%
May to Jul 20242024-07-312.4%1.4%
Jun to Aug 20242024-08-312.2%1.1%
Jul to Sep 20242024-09-302.1%1.7%
Aug to Oct 20242024-10-312.4%2.3%
Sep to Nov 20242024-11-302.4%2.3%
Oct to Dec 20242024-12-312.4%2.5%
Nov to Jan 20252025-01-312.1%2.0%
Dec to Feb 20252025-02-282.1%2.1%
Jan to Mar 20252025-03-311.8%1.8%
Feb to Apr 20252025-04-301.5%1.4%
Mar to May 20252025-05-311.1%0.8%
Apr to Jun 20252025-06-300.9%0.4%
May to Jul 20252025-07-310.7%0.6%
Jun to Aug 20252025-08-310.6%0.9%
Jul to Sep 20252025-09-300.5%0.8%
Aug to Oct 20252025-10-310.6%0.8%
Sep to Nov 20252025-11-300.6%0.7%
Oct to Dec 20252025-12-310.5%0.5%
Nov to Jan 20262026-01-310.4%0.8%
Dec to Feb 20262026-02-280.2%0.6%
Jan to Mar 20262026-03-310.1%1.1%
Feb to Apr 20262026-04-300.1%1.2%
Mar to May 20262026-05-310.3%1.2%
Apr to Jun 20262026-06-300.6%1.2%
May to Jul 20262026-07-310.6%1.0%
Jun to Aug 20262026-08-310.6%0.7%

Why it matters

Real-terms earnings growth shows whether pay is keeping pace with the cost of living. A positive figure means average pay is growing faster than CPIH inflation; a negative figure means it is falling behind.

Explain this number

Definition

This is ONS's own real-terms earnings growth figure, published directly in the average weekly earnings bulletin's prose. It is not a calculation performed by public-data.org. Average weekly earnings growth, adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH).

Unit and geography

Percentage, real terms (CPIH-adjusted) · Great Britain

How to interpret it

The bulletin also quotes a figure adjusted using CPI (which excludes owner occupiers' housing costs) nearby in the same sentence structure. This page shows only the CPIH-adjusted figure, which is ONS's preferred measure of consumer price inflation.

Important caveat

Average weekly earnings are published on a provisional basis and are subject to revision as later source data and seasonal-adjustment reviews are incorporated.

Source and date

ONS average weekly earnings bulletin · Published 20 October 2026 · observation period Jun to Aug 2026