Ambiguous earnings growth continues

Official figures for average weekly earnings in December 2020 for regular pay (excluding bonuses) in the whole economy grew by a healthy 4.5%.

However, this growth came before the UK went into full lockdown for a second time and may still be driven by a fall in the number and proportion of lower-paid employee jobs during the coronavirus pandemic. Underlying growth is likely to be under 3%. Manufacturing and construction show the smallest increases.

LRD Payline data on agreed deals is for January. It shows an across the board median increase of 2.1% for November to January (2.5% over the 12 months), but this is still based on very thin data. The biggest growth has largely been in public sector pay and services.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours

www.lrd.org.uk/index.php?pagid=18