- Home
- Publications
- NIESR Wage Tracker – September 2020
NIESR Wage Tracker – September 2020
Private Sector Pay to Decline Further in Q3 as Employment Falls
Main points
- According to new ONS statistics published this morning, average weekly earnings, including bonuses, declined at an annual rate of 1 per cent in the three months to July, or 1.8 per cent in real terms.
- The construction sector was worst hit with pay growth declining by 7.5 per cent while public sector pay growth is at the highest since 2006 at 4.5 per cent.
- We forecast August and September earnings to fall compared to July as demand for labour declines consistent with our unemployment forecast of 5.8 per cent for the third quarter. On average, weekly earnings including bonuses would decline by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter compared to a year ago and by 1.6 per cent in real terms.
“The UK labour market is entering a very difficult phase with unemployment going up and wages declining in the private sector. As the effect of the pandemic lingers on, more government support may be required to prevent the long-term scarring from a surge in unemployment”.
Cyrille Lenoël
Senior Economist, NIESR
Related Blog Posts
Breaking Down the Different Types of Pension in the UK
Robyn Smith
Adrian Pabst
25 Mar 2024
6 min read
What Are the Implications of the Rising National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage Rates?
Ekaterina Aleynikova
Adrian Pabst
19 Mar 2024
5 min read
How Changes in Migration Policy Could Boost Scotland’s Economy
Max Mosley
Ekaterina Aleynikova
18 Dec 2023
3 min read
Related Projects
Related News
Press Release: Compositional effects push up average weekly earnings at the end of 2020
26 Jan 2021
2 min read
Press Release: 2020 shaping up to be the worst year for total pay growth since 2009
15 Dec 2020
2 min read
Related Publications
Pay-Setting Among Employers in the Agriculture, Cleaning, Hospitality and Retail Sectors
11 Mar 2024
Research Report
Job Boom or Job Bust? The Effect of the Pandemic on Actual and Measured Job and Employment Growth
07 Feb 2024
UK Economic Outlook Box Analysis