Gender pay difference by UK country and English region (median weekly and hourly earnings for full-time employees excluding overtime)

Standard shorthand is used in this table: [p] = provisional, [r] = revised.

Data values	Data description	Year	Area	Gender
8.40	Hourly	1997	United Kingdom	Male
6.94	Hourly	1997	United Kingdom	Female
1.46	Hourly	1997	United Kingdom	Difference
17.40	Hourly	1997	United Kingdom	Percentage difference
8.43	Hourly	1997	Great Britain	Male
6.96	Hourly	1997	Great Britain	Female
1.47	Hourly	1997	Great Britain	Difference
17.50	Hourly	1997	Great Britain	Percentage difference
8.51	Hourly	1997	England	Male
7.05	Hourly	1997	England	Female
1.46	Hourly	1997	England	Difference
17.30	Hourly	1997	England	Percentage difference
7.78	Hourly	1997	North East	Male
6.31	Hourly	1997	North East	Female
1.47	Hourly	1997	North East	Difference
18.90	Hourly	1997	North East	Percentage difference
8.17	Hourly	1997	North West	Male
6.56	Hourly	1997	North West	Female
1.61	Hourly	1997	North West	Difference
19.70	Hourly	1997	North West	Percentage difference
7.64	Hourly	1997	Yorkshire and the Humber	Male
6.29	Hourly	1997	Yorkshire and the Humber	Female
1.35	Hourly	1997	Yorkshire and the Humber	Difference
17.60	Hourly	1997	Yorkshire and the Humber	Percentage difference
7.70	Hourly	1997	East Midlands	Male
6.10	Hourly	1997	East Midlands	Female
1.60	Hourly	1997	East Midlands	Difference
20.70	Hourly	1997	East Midlands	Percentage difference
7.96	Hourly	1997	West Midlands	Male
6.39	Hourly	1997	West Midlands	Female
1.57	Hourly	1997	West Midlands	Difference
19.70	Hourly	1997	West Midlands	Percentage difference
8.43	Hourly	1997	East	Male
6.94	Hourly	1997	East	Female
1.49	Hourly	1997	East	Difference
17.70	Hourly	1997	East	Percentage difference
11.08	Hourly	1997	London	Male
9.41	Hourly	1997	London	Female
1.67	Hourly	1997	London	Difference
15.10	Hourly	1997	London	Percentage difference
8.93	Hourly	1997	South East	Male
7.14	Hourly	1997	South East	Female
1.79	Hourly	1997	South East	Difference
20.10	Hourly	1997	South East	Percentage difference
8.11	Hourly	1997	South West	Male
6.38	Hourly	1997	South West	Female
1.73	Hourly	1997	South West	Difference
21.30	Hourly	1997	South West	Percentage difference
7.83	Hourly	1997	Wales	Male
6.46	Hourly	1997	Wales	Female
1.37	Hourly	1997	Wales	Difference
17.50	Hourly	1997	Wales	Percentage difference
7.90	Hourly	1997	Scotland	Male
6.45	Hourly	1997	Scotland	Female
1.45	Hourly	1997	Scotland	Difference
18.40	Hourly	1997	Scotland	Percentage difference
7.46	Hourly	1997	Northern Ireland	Male
6.23	Hourly	1997	Northern Ireland	Female
1.23	Hourly	1997	Northern Ireland	Difference
16.50	Hourly	1997	Northern Ireland	Percentage difference
8.74	Hourly	1998	United Kingdom	Male
7.22	Hourly	1998	United Kingdom	Female
1.52	Hourly	1998	United Kingdom	Difference
17.40	Hourly	1998	United Kingdom	Percentage difference
8.76	Hourly	1998	Great Britain	Male
7.24	Hourly	1998	Great Britain	Female
1.52	Hourly	1998	Great Britain	Difference
17.40	Hourly	1998	Great Britain	Percentage difference
8.86	Hourly	1998	England	Male
7.33	Hourly	1998	England	Female
1.53	Hourly	1998	England	Difference
17.30	Hourly	1998	England	Percentage difference
7.99	Hourly	1998	North East	Male
6.29	Hourly	1998	North East	Female
1.70	Hourly	1998	North East	Difference
21.30	Hourly	1998	North East	Percentage difference
8.41	Hourly	1998	North West	Male
6.77	Hourly	1998	North West	Female
1.64	Hourly	1998	North West	Difference
19.50	Hourly	1998	North West	Percentage difference
8.04	Hourly	1998	Yorkshire and the Humber	Male
6.61	Hourly	1998	Yorkshire and the Humber	Female
1.43	Hourly	1998	Yorkshire and the Humber	Difference
17.80	Hourly	1998	Yorkshire and the Humber	Percentage difference
7.91	Hourly	1998	East Midlands	Male
6.26	Hourly	1998	East Midlands	Female
1.65	Hourly	1998	East Midlands	Difference
20.90	Hourly	1998	East Midlands	Percentage difference
8.38	Hourly	1998	West Midlands	Male
6.72	Hourly	1998	West Midlands	Female
1.66	Hourly	1998	West Midlands	Difference
19.80	Hourly	1998	West Midlands	Percentage difference
8.70	Hourly	1998	East	Male
7.29	Hourly	1998	East	Female
1.41	Hourly	1998	East	Difference
16.20	Hourly	1998	East	Percentage difference
11.57	Hourly	1998	London	Male
9.83	Hourly	1998	London	Female
1.74	Hourly	1998	London	Difference
15.00	Hourly	1998	London	Percentage difference

Showing 1 to 100 of 3,479 rows

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Main information

• Most recent update: 28 October 2025
• Next update expected: October 2026
• Designation: Accredited official statistics
• Data provider: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
• Data source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)

Data notes

• Revisions:
  • 28 October 2025
  • 27 October 2025
• Rounding applied:

  Gross weekly earnings are rounded to one decimal place. Gross hourly earnings are rounded to two decimal places.

Overview

• Summary of dataset and variables:

  These data show average gross hourly and weekly earnings in pounds for male and female full-time employees excluding overtime. The data relate to full-time employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence, and the difference between these figures. Area relates to the location of workplace, not the residence of the employee.

  Various methods can be used to measure the earnings of women relative to men. ONS's headline estimates of the gender pay gap are for hourly earnings excluding overtime. Including overtime can distort the picture as men work relatively more overtime than women. Although median and mean hourly pay excluding overtime provide useful comparisons of men's and women's earnings, they do not reveal differences in rates of pay for comparable jobs. This is because such measures do not allow for the different employment characteristics of men and women, such as the proportion in different occupations and their length of time in jobs.

• Data collection or calculation:

  The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is based on a 1% sample of employee jobs taken from HM Revenue and Customs PAYE records. Consequently, individuals with more than one job may appear in the sample more than once. Information on earnings and hours is obtained from employers and treated confidentially. ASHE does not cover the self-employed or employees not paid during the reference period.

  The median is often presented as the headline measure for average earnings because the distribution of earnings is skewed, with more people earning lower salaries than higher salaries. In a skewed distribution a relatively small number of high values can have a disproportionate influence on the mean, pulling it away from what might be regarded as typical. The median is not affected by extreme values and consequently is considered a better indicator of typical “average” earnings.

• Statistical quality:

  The figures are taken from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which is run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In 2004, the ASHE replaced the New Earnings Survey (NES) by introducing a new methodology into the calculation of earnings data. This new methodology applies weights to the results to take account of the structure of the population in terms of age, gender, occupation and area of workplace (London and the South East or elsewhere in the UK). The NES data for 1997 to 2003 were reworked to provide a back-series of earnings data using the new methodology.

  There were further changes to the ASHE methodology in 2005 as a result of the introduction of a new questionnaire. 2004 data were reworked to be comparable with this new methodology, but it was not possible to do this for earlier years. Thus there are discontinuities in the data that must be taken account of when making comparisons over time.

  A new automatic coding system for occupations was introduced in 2007. The main impact of this was to move a number of jobs away from the top occupational groups to other occupational groups. This tended to lower the average earnings in the top occupational groups and to lower earnings overall. Partly in response to the change to the sample design, an additional weighting stratum was introduced for those large enterprises which submit electronic returns to the survey (special arrangements). There was no reduction in the sample amongst these enterprises.

  In 2007 and 2008, there was a sample reduction of around 20 per cent. The sample reduction was designed to be biggest in those industries where earnings exhibit lower levels of variation. In 2009 the original sample size was re-instated.

  For the publication of the 2011 ASHE estimates, the occupational groups were reclassified. Since the occupational classification forms part of the methodology by which ASHE data are weighted to produce estimates for the UK, this release marked the start of a new time series and therefore care should be taken when making comparisons with earlier years.

  As the results come from a survey, the results are sample-based estimates and therefore subject to differing degrees of sampling variability, i.e. the true value for any measure lies in a differing range about the estimated value. This range or sampling variability increases as the detail in the data increases, for example regional data are subject to higher variability than the Great Britain or United Kingdom data.

  For further information on the quality and methodology of the data please see ONS’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings quality and methodology information report.

• Related reports:
  • GOV.WALES Annual survey of hours and earnings

Published by

• Organisation: Welsh Government
• Contact email: labourmarket.stats@gov.wales

Metadata

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