The Times
Average earnings are no higher than they were almost two decades ago, figures show, amid the longest period of wage stagnation since the Napoleonic wars.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that real average earnings are at the same level as they were in 2005. Then weekly pay stood at £497 — the same figure as it was in April.
Economists described the figures as “completely unprecedented”, saying that there was no comparable period since the Napoleonic war when wages had been so stagnant. They attributed the slump to the series of crises that have hit the economy over the past 15 years including the financial crash, Brexit and the consequences of the war in Ukraine. They warned that with inflation still running at nearly 10 per cent, it was likely to be about 18 months before real-terms wages began to rise again.
Bolded bit is the real story. Everyone except minimum wage workers have seen their wages decrease not just "no growth since 2005"The ONS figures show that in May 2016 adjusted weekly pay stood at £493 — just £4 lower than today. Separate figures, up until the end of last year, show that workers aged 30 to 39 have suffered most, with their real-terms earnings falling 10 per cent between 2008 and 2022, while those aged over 50 saw only a 5 per cent drop. The sole cohort to have a rise in earnings was those aged 18 to 21, thanks to increases in the national minimum wage.