Wages will continue to be outpaced by inflation for the rest of this quarter, the NIESR economic institute has warned.
NIESR estimates that average weekly earnings will grow at 6.2% in the third quarter of this year, up from 5.5% in the three months to July.
The remain someway off of inflation, which hit a high of 10.1% in July.
Paula Bejarano Carbo, data analyst at NIESR, said: “Today’s ONS estimates suggest a growth in average weekly earnings, including bonuses, of 5.5% – in line with our previous forecast.
“Despite this growth, real regular wages fell by 2.8% in the three months to July, indicative of the intensity of inflationary pressure in the economy.
“Strikingly, the figures today note the largest disparity in public and private sector wages recorded outside of the pandemic period, where private sector regular pay grew by 6% while its public sector counterpart grew by 2%.
“Workers in these sectors may well be asymmetrically equipped to deal with the ongoing cost of living crisis.”
