Die Löhne wachsen so langsam wie seit mehr als fünf Jahren nicht mehr

Whilst true it’s a bit of a disingenuous headline. Pay went up 3.8%, inflation is currently 3.0% so pay is going up above inflation. So pay is going up in real terms.

When inflation was much higher pay was going up by less than inflation. So pay was going down in real terms.

*Pay has grown at its slowest rate in more than five years, according to the latest official figures.*

*Annual earnings – excluding bonuses – grew at an annual rate of 3.8% in the November to January period, down from the previous figure of 4.2%.*

*The ONS said regular earnings growth was 5.9% for the public sector and 3.3% for the private sector.*

*Despite the slowdown in pay growth from its previous figure of 4.2%, wages are still rising faster than the rate of price increases, with inflation currently standing at 3%.*

*The unemployment rate remained unchanged at a near five-year high of 5.2%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, but there was a rise in the number of workers on payrolls last month.*

*The number of payrolled employees in February 2026 was up by about 20,000 from the previous month, to 30.3 million.*

Although crucially the rise is above inflation, so its a real world wage increase. Median UK earnings have now been rising above inflation for about three years now.

Yeah well let’s see what partners in my company get this June. Is it going to be a million or will they fall short?

The troubling with „headline“ inflation and payrise figures is they are often not very representative when you zoom in to geographic locations, households and individuals. I am sure that there are people out there getting a payrise of 3% or more this year, but I think I have only ever come close to that once in the last 10 years!