Full-time median weekly pay reaches £811.20 in April 2026

ONS figures show full-time median weekly earnings rose 5.8 per cent year on year in nominal terms and 2.7 per cent after inflation adjustment.

Median weekly earnings for full-time employees reached £811.20 in April 2026, up from £766.60 in April 2025 — a rise of 5.8 per cent in nominal terms, according to the Office for National Statistics. After adjustment for inflation using the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs, the real-terms increase was 2.7 per cent, meaning median full-time pay grew faster than CPIH over the year.

The figures come from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, which draws primarily on employers’ Pay As You Earn records. The 2026 estimates are provisional, relate to the pay period containing 22 April 2026, and may be revised.

When all employees are included — not just full-time workers — median weekly pay rose by 4.9 per cent over the same period, the figures show.

The median is the midpoint at which half of employees earn more and half earn less. It’s less skewed by very high earners than the mean, which makes it a more reliable guide to typical pay. But it doesn’t show how earnings changed across individual occupations, industries, regions or households, and takes no account of differences in tax, working hours or living costs.