UK workers 'face 20 years of pay stagnation', Foundation warns

11 Mar 2024

The Resolution Foundation has warned that the UK is facing almost 20 years of lost pay growth.

It warned that the UK is facing a '£14,000 wage depression'. It said that, despite the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) reducing its forecast for inflation, real average wages are only set to regain their 2008 levels in 2026, which amounts to a staggering near-two lost decades of pay growth.

It said that, had pay continued along its pre-financial crisis path over this period, the average worker in 2023 would have been around £14,000 better off.

Commenting on the matter, Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: 'It has been a frenetic few years for tax policy making, with huge rises and cuts announced in quick succession. Middle earners have come out on top, while taxpayers earning below £26,000 or over £60,000 will lose out. The biggest group of losers are pensioners, who face an £8 billion collective hit.

'Looking at all policy changes announced this parliament reinforces the sense that the government has reversed course from the approach that dominated during the 2010s. Back then, support was focused on pensioners and takeaways on poorer, younger households. This time it is those aged over 65 and on the highest incomes who are set to lose most.'