Regular pay in the UK, excluding bonuses, rose 4.5% year-on-year to GBP 689 per week in the three months to November 2025, slightly easing from 4.6% in the previous period and aligning with market forecasts. It was the weakest increase since the three months to April 2022, with private sector wages slowing to 3.6% from 3.9%, the lowest since late 2020. Public sector pay, however, accelerated to 7.9% from 7.6%, the fastest rise on record. By industry, the strongest annual gains were seen in wholesale, retail, hotels, and restaurants (5.1%), followed by services (4.6%), manufacturing (4.4%), construction (2.4%), and finance and business services (2.2%). Adjusted for inflation, real wages rose 0.6% in the three months to November, holding steady for the second period in a row.
