Pay

(asked on 19th July 2018) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the reduction in wage growth between March and May 2018.


Answered by
John Glen Portrait
John Glen
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This question was answered on 26th July 2018
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the level of total average weekly earnings has been growing steadily since January 2017, between March and May 2018 it increased from £515 to £517. Total real pay growth was 0.1% in the three months to May. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) expect average earnings to grow faster than inflation in every year of the forecast.

The employment rate is currently at a record high and the Government is taking action to support wages. Supported by the introduction of the National Living Wage, the lowest paid have seen their wages grow by 7% above inflation between April 2015 and April 2017.

Boosting productivity is the only way to achieve sustained wage growth and higher living standards. That’s why in the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced that the National Productivity Investment Fund, introduced in 2016 to invest in housing, R&D and infrastructure, would be extended and increased from £23bn to £31bn.

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