The last 15 years have been very poor for UK wages.

While average weekly earnings have generally risen each year, living standards haven't actually improved due to inflation increasing the cost of living.

When looking at wages adjusted for inflation, the average UK worker is worse off than they were back in 2008, when real wages peaked just before the financial crisis.

This sluggish growth in real wages is even more obvious when compared to growth before 2008, when wages grew by over 20% in just 8 years.

We can also see how real wages haven't kept up with economic growth, as the UK economy grew steadily in the years after the financial crisis.

After falling sharply at the start of the pandemic, average wages did bounce back, but they've stagnated again for the last year.

UK inflation hit 7% in March, which is the highest level for 30 years.

Costs of living are therefore rapidly increasing, and the OBR recently forecasted that real incomes will fall by over 2% this year, making the average worker significantly worse off.

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