Claim checked · 4 September 2026

“People are getting poorer”

Depends which measure you use. Real average pay is at a record high — but it took fifteen years to regain its 2008 level, and real household disposable income has slipped since late 2024.

Figures in the text were correct on 4 September 2026; the charts below are drawn live from the same series and will move as new periods are published.

Real average weekly pay (total pay adjusted for consumer price inflation) was £495 in 2026 Q2 — equal to its record. The striking fact is not the level but the path: real pay was £473 in early 2008 and did not pass that level again until 2020 — twelve years — then the 2022 inflation dragged it back to exactly £473 by the end of that year. Only from 2023 has it climbed clear, reaching today's record in late 2025. That long round trip explains why "getting poorer" rings true to many people even as the current direction is up.

Real household disposable income — a wider measure that includes benefits, taxes and self-employment, for all households — peaked in 2024 Q4 and stood about 1.5% below that peak in 2026 Q1. So the two best measures currently point in different directions: earnings up, total disposable income slightly down.

Neither measure says anything about distribution: an average can rise while median or low-income households fall behind, and housing costs are not subtracted from either series. Both series are shown below with their breaks and caveats.