The median full-time salary in Britain rose to 39,039 pounds before tax ($52,394) this year, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier, annual official figures showed on Thursday.

The annual increase was down from a 7.0 per cent rise in 2024 and the smallest since 2021 when wages were depressed by many workers being on reduced furlough pay during the pandemic.

Nevertheless, the 2025 increase is above the rates that were typical in the years after the global financial crisis.

Adjusted for higher inflation, the median salary this year is up 1.1 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said, using its preferred CPIH measure of price increases.

Faster pay growth came for workers in the care and leisure sectors who benefited from a 6.7 per cent rise in the minimum wage which took effect in April.

The data comes from the ONS’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, its most comprehensive study of pay and earnings, and is based on earnings in April each year.

The survey showed a declining proportion of low-paid jobs – those paying under two thirds of median earnings, which the increased minimum wage was designed to eliminate. These fell to a record-low 2.5 per cent of the workforce, down from 3.4 per cent in 2024.