Labour market earnings of young people
Data on median (average) hourly pay for 22 to 29 year olds in the UK.
Summary main findings
In 2022, the median (average) real hourly pay for 22 to 29 year olds in the UK was £12.20.
Growth in real hourly pay for 22 to 29 year olds has been low over the last 15 years. This is partly down to sharp falls after:
- the financial crisis in 2008 – average hourly pay went down from £13.31 in 2009 to £12.21 in 2011
- the cost of living crisis in 2022 – average hourly pay went down from £13.33 in 2021 to £12.20 in 2022
By year
Visualisation for by year
Median (average) real hourly pay (£) of 22 to 29 year olds, over time (UK, 1997 to 2022)
Data for by year
| Year | Median hourly pay (£) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 12.20 |
| 2021 | 13.33 |
| 2020 | 13.21 |
| 2019 | 13.08 |
| 2018 | 12.78 |
| 2017 | 12.66 |
| 2016 | 12.62 |
| 2015 | 12.30 |
| 2014 | 12.12 |
| 2013 | 12.13 |
| 2012 | 12.11 |
| 2011 | 12.21 |
| 2010 | 12.88 |
| 2009 | 13.31 |
| 2008 | 13.21 |
| 2007 | 13.21 |
| 2006 | 13.13 |
| 2005 | 13.10 |
| 2004 | 13.07 |
| 2003 | 12.95 |
| 2002 | 12.86 |
| 2001 | 12.42 |
| 2000 | 11.98 |
| 1999 | 11.64 |
| 1998 | 11.30 |
| 1997 | 11.02 |
Download for by year
For the full download file, see Download the data.
About the data
Data source(s)
Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings
Time period
1997 to 2022
Geographic area
UK
What the data measures
The data shows median (average) real hourly pay for 22 to 29 year olds in the UK.
Things you need to know
Earnings are adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, with a base year of 2021.
The data does not include self-employed people or employees who were not paid during the survey period.
Type of data
Survey data
Full report
Read more in State of the Nation 2023 on GOV.UK.
Download the data
Download full dataset (CSV, 3KB)
This file contains the following variables:
- Indicator code
- Indicator name
- Area type
- Area code
- Area name
- Time period
- Age
- Sex
- Value
- Unit