ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2015 Provisional Results
18 November 2015
Wage growth
The provisional results reflect that in April 2015 median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees were £528 which was 1.8% higher than those returned in April 2014 of £518. This follows from an annual growth of 0.2% between 2013 and 2014.
Growth has been slower since the economic downturn, averaging around 1.5% per year between 2009 and 2015 and adjusted for inflation, weekly earnings increased by 1.9% compared to 2014. This is the first increase since 2008, and is due to a combination of growth in average earnings and a low level of inflation.
The gender pay gap
The gender pay gap for median earnings of full-time employees decreased to 9.4%, from 9.6% in 2014 which is the lowest since this survey began in 1997.It should be noted though the gap has changed relatively little over the last 4 years and whilst a similar trend is seen when full-time and part-time employees are combined, the gap is unchanged from 2014 at 19.2%.
The bottom 10 percent v the top 10 percent
In April 2015 the bottom 10% of full-time employees earned less than £297 per week. At the other end of the distribution, the top 10% of full-time employees earned more than £1,035. Since 1997, earnings at the 90th percentile have remained consistently at around 3.5 times earnings at the 10th percentile.
Private Sector v Public Sector
Median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees increased by 1.8% in the public sector and by 1.6% in the private sector. Private sector earnings have remained consistently at around 85% of public sector earnings since 2009.
Full details Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2015 Provisional Results can be found at the website of the Office for National Statistics.