The median pay award across the economy has returned to 5.0% for the three months to July, according to our latest analysis. The median is down from 6.0% in the previous three-month period and a number of factors have influenced this change. The drop is largely due to timing, as the latest analysis period does not include pay awards effective in April – the most popular month for pay setting – in which month over a fifth of increases were worth 9% or more, partly as a result of the 9.7% uplift to the National Living Wage (NLW) but also due to high inflation and tight labour markets. In our latest sample, which is based on 51 pay awards effective between 1 May and 31 July 2023, together covering nearly 800,000 workers, just 8% of pay increases were worth 9% or more.
