Indexed gross annual pay in London and England (2002-2022)
Change in real annual gross pay by job pay percentile in London (2022)
Annual earnings dropped tremendously since 2008 (in real terms) where in 2014 the bottom 10th percentile saw the largest decrease of 20.6%.
Up to 2020, there has been an increase in annual pay, in particular for the top 90th percentile as gross annual pay also includes bonuses. In 2020, the 90th percentile was close to their 2008 level annual earnings, shy only of 1.9%.
The figures for 2022 show continued significant reductions post-COVID, as pay has taken a downward turn for the bottom 10th percentile, the 50th percentile (the median), and the 90th percentile. The 90th percentile has been hit hardest with the top earners at their lowest level of real terms gross annual pay since 2002; the result of a 13% decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Comparing annual earnings between different time periods gives a clearer picture to annual pay growth or decline over time. When looking at the change in annual earnings within the last year (in 2022 real terms) earnings have declined across all percentiles, although more for the top 90th percentile. However, when looking at the 5 year and 10 year growth, the bottom percentiles fare better than the top job pay percentiles, with annual gross pay increasing 3.1% since 2012 in the bottom 10th percentile compared to decreases of 4.3% for the 50th percentile (median) and 7% for the 90th percentile.
The data on annual earnings refer to earnings within a reference week in April. The data annual earnings have not been impacted by any changes in actual hours worked, as is the case with weekly earnings.