Rises continue but lag behind inflation


Private sector earnings (regular pay) continue to increase annually by over 7%, and that’s reflected in the mainly private sector settlements monitored by LRD Payline in the latest three-month period. At the middle of the range, lowest basic rates have risen by 8%, with a standard increase (for most of the workers covered) of 6.5% (higher and lower settlements are counted in those median figures).


That is still behind RPI inflation (13.4%) but independent forecasters are revising their predictions downwards as we reach a year since the Ukraine war and the major price hikes first started. They are predicting RPI will drop to around 5.8% later this year, although this does not guarantee prices will fall. Union deals will need to continue to push high to keep up.