Workers earn more in their late 30s
04/07/2014
The average worker in the UK is most likely to see their earnings peak in their late 30s according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A 29 year old worker in the UK had an average wage of £13.93 an hour in 2013, the highest wage of every age range.
These findings have revealed big changes from the mid-1970s when those in their late 20s were the highest paid age group of workers. In 1975, the highest average wage peaked at 29 years old, as this age group earned the equivalent of £7.09 an hour in today’s money.
However, the figures cover up huge differences in the wage peaks for men and women.
The average wage peak for a man in 2013 was at 50 years old, but for women it was just 34 years old. One explanation for this could be the higher likelihood of women taking reduced hours at this age as they start up a family.
Despite the difference in wage peaks for men and women, the gender pay gap has improved significantly since the 1970s, when men were generally paid significantly more than women throughout their entire careers.
Lowest paid have benefited
Since 1998, the lowest paid have seen the highest growth in wages, as the bottom 1% of earners saw their wages grow by 49% up to 2013. In contrast, the top 1% of earners experienced the smallest wage growth out of any other workers.
This is the opposite of what happened between 1975 and 1998 when the top 1% of earners saw their wages grow by 138%. This was more than twice as much as the bottom 1% of earners whose wages grew by just 63% in the same period.
However, Frances O’Grady, general secretary at the TUC said that "we need to go further”, as a short-term fall in equality is “not the lasting change we need”.
He continued to say that as the economy is recovering, “the priority must be a pay rise for Britain’s workers”.
Need financial advice?
If you need to ask a financial question then please contact our financial advisers online or over the phone to get help with your query.
Share this..
Related stories
Consumer confidence remains unchanged in April
01/05/2015 UK consumer confidence remains at its highest level in more than 12 years, according to market research company, Gfk. The data from Gfk shows monthly consumer confidence remained unchanged from March to April. People were no more or less optimistic about the future than they were last month, which is rare for the time leading up to a general election when the future of the countr...
Read MoreHas Gordon Brown Opened The Flood Gates For Wage Rises?
In a move which will eliminate the threat of possible industrial action by UK nurses in the short term , it has been announced that they have agreed an 8.1% three year wage deal. The nurses will receive a rise of 2.75% in year one with a 2.5% rise in each of the following two years. However, buried away in the small print is the opportunity for the Unions to reopen talks if the price of living c...
Read MoreIs the UK really headed for a double dip recession?
Towards the end of 2009 it seemed as though the UK economy was on the verge of a sustainable recovery which could potentially save the Labour government from defeat at the next election. However, over the last few weeks the situation has deteriorated somewhat and there are grave fears of a double dip recession in the UK which would effectively undo all of the good work done by Gordon Brown over th...
Read MoreUK Sterling notes may be replaced by plastic cash
Australia introduced the concept over a decade ago and a number of countries like Romania, Vietnam, Mexico and Malaysia, have followed suit. It now looks as though the UK could to turn to polymer based bank notes to replace the current paper ones. It’s thought that the English £5 note becomes haggard after around six month, while the Australian equivalent lasts around 40 months. When taking...
Read MoreCould the UK banking sector really have collapsed last year?
As we look back to the UK banking disaster of last year and the rumours that the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS were literally on the verge of collapse, could the UK financial sector really have failed?
The truth is that the UK government, and worldwide governments, could not afford for the UK economy to collapse and this meant shoring up the UK financial sector with whatever finan...