Real wages continue to fall despite the UK unemployment rate falling to its lowest level since 1974, official figures revealed today.
The sharp rise in inflation outpaced wage growth, causing real pay, including bonuses, to fall 2.4% year-on-year in the three months to August, data from the National Statistics Office.
This is one of the biggest falls in real pay, which is the value of pay packets after adjusting for the impact of inflation, since comparable records began in 2001, but below of the 3 percent fall recorded in the three months to June.
The headline rate of year-on-year growth in average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose to 6 percent in August from 5.5 percent.