Northern Ireland’s latest pay statistics show the strongest wage growth in nearly two decades. The Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA) has released provisional 2025 data from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), indicating that full-time employees now earn a median £713 a week—7.4 % more than a year ago.
Although average pay in Northern Ireland still trails the UK median of £767, the region recorded the highest year-on-year increase of any UK nation or region. With inflation easing, real-terms earnings are finally climbing again, potentially easing some pressure on household budgets.
Pay growth hits new high
- Median weekly pay for full-time staff rose from £664 to £713 between April 2024 and April 2025.
- Real (inflation-adjusted) earnings increased by 3.1 %—a marked improvement on the modest 0.9 % rise in 2024 and the declines of 2022–23.
- Since 2021, nominal pay has grown about 6 % each year, roughly triple the annual pace seen between 2005 and 2020.
- Northern Ireland is now the UK’s fifth-lowest-paid region, up from fourth-lowest last year.
Public versus private sector trends
- Public-sector employees saw a 9.3 % jump in median weekly earnings, reflecting several backdated multi-year pay deals.
- Private-sector pay rose 5.4 %, continuing a post-pandemic surge but lagging the public sector for the first time since 2020.
- In real terms, public-sector wages grew 4.9 % over the year, compared with 1.2 % in the private sector.
- Nevertheless, since 2019 real public-sector pay is only 0.1 % higher, whereas private-sector pay is up 8.8 %.
Low-paid work at record low
- Just 3.4 % of jobs fell below the low-pay threshold (two-thirds of UK median hourly pay), the smallest share since records began.
- Only 0.9 % of roles paid below the National Living or Minimum Wage, down from 1.6 % last year and far below the furlough-affected peaks of 2020–21.
- Despite progress, Northern Ireland still has the second-highest rate of low-paid jobs among UK regions.
Gender pay gap narrows slightly
- The overall gender pay gap stands at 7.2 % in favour of men, compared with 7.9 % in 2024.
- Northern Ireland’s gap remains markedly smaller than the UK-wide gap (around 13 %).
- Both regions have roughly halved their gaps since 2005, but convergence has slowed in recent years.
Missing pieces and wider context
While the bulletin provides a detailed snapshot, several areas remain unclear:
- The figures cover median earnings but offer limited insight into pay dispersion within sectors or occupations.
- Part-time, temporary and gig-economy workers—groups often facing the greatest insecurity—are not discussed in depth.
- No regional analysis inside Northern Ireland is provided; urban–rural splits and sub-regional disparities could mask hidden pockets of low pay.
- The dataset predates April 2025 only, so any fallout from recent economic headwinds—such as higher interest rates—does not yet appear.
- There is no commentary on productivity trends, cost-of-living pressures (housing, energy) or how wage growth interacts with them.
NISRA’s figures are publicly available via the ASHE interactive tables and bulletin. A simple explanation of median versus mean pay can be found in NISRA’s visual guide to earnings statistics.
Questions for policymakers and employers
- How sustainable is the current pace of wage growth once public-sector back-pay tails off?
- What strategies are in place to close the remaining 7.2 % gender pay gap, particularly in higher-paid occupations?
- Will forthcoming data shed light on wage growth for part-time and gig-economy workers, who are not fully captured here?
- How will government and employers balance pay rises with productivity improvements to avoid fuelling inflation?
- Given that 3.4 % of jobs are still classed as low-paid, what targeted policies could lift wages in sectors such as hospitality and retail?
What to watch next
The headline figures suggest a welcome turn in living-standards after two difficult years. However, whether this momentum continues will depend on public-sector pay negotiations, further inflation movements and the strength of the private-sector recovery. Stakeholders may wish to monitor the autumn update of ASHE, as well as forthcoming cost-of-living data, to see whether real-terms gains translate into lasting improvements for households across Northern Ireland.