British employers provided staff with the joint-lowest pay increases since June 2022, offering a median raise of 4% in the three months leading up to the end of

August, according to data released by human resources firm Brightmine on Tuesday.

These figures align with other pay surveys and official data, reflecting a continued slowdown in wage growth as inflation returns closer to the Bank of England’s 2% target.

The Bank of England (BoE) is closely monitoring wage growth for signs of easing inflationary pressures before considering future interest rate cuts.

"Employers who have implemented pay awards this year have already adjusted to the decreasing inflation environment by offering lower pay increases than last year," said Sheila Attwood, Senior Content Manager at Brightmine.

The 4% annual pay rise in the three months to August matches the figure from the three months to July, which was revised down from an earlier estimate of 4.5%.

Official statistics revealed that average weekly earnings growth, excluding bonuses, slowed to 5.1% in the three months to July, marking the slowest increase in over two years.

A Bank of England survey conducted over the same period showed that businesses expected to raise wages by 4.1% over the next 12 months.

Brightmine, formerly known as XpertHR, based its findings for the three months to August on 67 pay awards, covering approximately 900,000 employees. Photo by Phil Whitehouse, Wikimedia commons.