The most significant decline in regular salaries since records began more than two decades ago, as well as the ninth consecutive monthly decline, according to the data, intensifies the pressure on the government to take action.
In the face of growing costs, workers have endured a historic real-term wage decline, according to official figures.
Taking inflation into account, regular wages, excluding bonuses, fell an average of 4.1% annually in the three months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It is the largest decline since records began more than two decades ago and the ninth straight monthly decline in real pay, according to the data.
It comes after the consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate reached a 40-year high of 9.4% in June and is projected to reach 11% later this year.
Due to the impact of the Ukraine conflict, electricity and fuel costs have skyrocketed, while wages have struggled to keep up.
The strain on real wages will intensify pressure on the government to adopt additional measures to address the cost of living crisis.
In the three months leading up to June, ordinary salary, excluding bonuses, increased by 4.7% when inflation was not taken into account.
With incentives, overall compensation rose 5.1%.
There were numerous distinctions between the public and private sectors.
Public sector employees, many of whom voted to strike in response to below-inflation pay offers, saw their overall earnings increase by only 1.8%, compared to 5.9% in the private sector.
The sector of wholesaling, retailing, hotels, and restaurants experienced the highest growth rate of 7.7%, followed by the sectors of finance and business services and construction, both of which grew by 6.3%.
The report also revealed that the number of employees in the United Kingdom climbed by 73,000 between June and July, reaching 29.7 million.
During the same period, the unemployment rate grew to 3.8% from 3.7% in the preceding period.
The number of job openings decreased by 19,800 from the previous quarter, representing the first quarterly decline from June to August 2020.
Director of economic statistics at the ONS, Darren Morgan, stated: “In the second quarter of 2022, the employment rate increased while the unemployment rate and the number of persons neither working nor seeking for work remained relatively unchanged.
“In the meantime, the overall number of hours worked each week appears to have stabilized at a level just below pre-pandemic levels.
“Unemployment is still at a very low level.
Even though the number of job openings remains historically large, it declined for the first time since 2020 summer.
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi said: “In what I know to be difficult times for individuals, today’s statistics indicate that the job market is in a robust position, with unemployment lower than at practically any point in the past four decades. This is fantastic news.
This demonstrates the resiliency of the British economy and the excellence of the companies that are creating new employment throughout the country.
He added: “Although there are no quick solutions to the cost of living difficulties that people are experiencing, we are assisting wherever possible.
“We are offering a £37bn package of aid to households in the form of cash handouts and tax cuts so that people may retain a greater portion of their earnings.
While we cannot protect everyone from these global economic shocks, we are focusing our assistance on millions of the most vulnerable members of our society, including those with the lowest incomes, the elderly, and the crippled.
