Labour market earnings of young people

Published: 18 December 2025
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Data on median hourly pay for 22 to 29 year olds in the UK.

  1. Summary main findings
  2. By year
  3. About the data
  4. Download the data

Summary main findings

Real hourly pay fell markedly after the 2008 financial crisis. It recovered slowly to pre-crisis levels in 2021, and has increased slightly again.

After accounting for inflation, median hourly pay fell slightly from its peak of £14.98 in 2021 to £14.69 in 2022. It recovered to £15.26 in 2024.

By year

Visualisation

Median real hourly pay of 22 to 29 year olds, over time (UK, 1997 to 2024)

Data

Median real hourly pay of 22 to 29 year olds, over time (UK, 1997 to 2024)
Year Median hourly pay (£)
2024 15.26
2023 14.85
2022 14.69
2021 14.98
2020 14.96
2019 14.65
2018 14.19
2017 13.94
2016 13.88
2015 13.41
2014 13.21
2013 13.29
2012 13.29
2011 13.45
2010 14.26
2009 14.77
2008 14.69
2007 14.81
2006 14.69
2005 14.61
2004 14.62
2003 14.50
2002 14.38
2001 14.02
2000 13.51
1999 13.12
1998 12.79
1997 12.49
  • Download the data (CSV, 361B)

    • Download

    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 2024

    Geographic area

    UK

    What the data measures

    The data shows median real hourly pay for 22 to 29 year olds in the UK.

    ‘Real’ hourly pay means that earnings are adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index with Housing Costs (CPIH), with a base year of 2024.

    The median is the middle point of a range of numbers which are arranged in order. Using the median prevents very high and very low values from distorting the figures.

    Things you need to know

    The data does not include self-employed people or employees who were not paid during the survey period.

    The data is not comparable to the data in last year’s report. This is due to a change in the base year used for inflation adjustment.

    Type of data

    Survey data

    Full report

    Read more in State of the Nation 2025 on GOV.UK.

    Download the data

    Download full dataset (CSV, 5KB)

    This file contains the following variables:

    • Measure code
    • Measure title
    • Chart type
    • Area code
    • Area type
    • Area name
    • Primary split type
    • Primary split value
    • Time period
    • Value
    • Unit
    • Value note

    Page history

    Publication release date:

    18 December 2025

    Editions of this page:

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