Teachers and social workers have experienced the worst pay growth in the UK in the last decade, which has seen public sector salaries falling significantly behind those in the private sector, according to research.
The years between 2010/11 and 2020/21 have been a “lost decade” for pay growth in the UK labour market, but new analysis tracking workers in different sectors over the period reveals some have fared considerably worse than others.
The median salary in the education sector has grown by just 4.3%, once adjusted for inflation, with only social work lagging even further behind with a 4.1% increase. For comparison, the median or typical worker saw pay grow by 15% over the same period.
The biggest gain has been in the low-paid hospitality sector, where workers have seen a 35.3% jump in median earnings – thanks mainly to the introduction of the “national living wage”. Finance and insurance went up by 26.8% while professional and scientific services saw a 23.2% increase in real median pay.
