WAGES in Redditch outstripped inflation, as real-terms pay in the UK steadied, new figures show.

The Office for National Statistics said total pay including bonuses in the UK jumped by 8.5% and outstripped inflation for the first time since March 2022.

However, experts said only some sectors, such as business and finance, have benefited, while low-paid workers in industries like retail and transport continue to see their wages fall short of inflation.

ONS figures show the median wage in Redditch saw a 9.4% increase in the three months to July, which surpassed Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rate of 7.8% over the same period.

The total pay in the UK, including bonuses, jumped by 8.5% and outstripped inflation by 0.6% for the first time since March 2022.

Median monthly pay in the area was £2,200 as of July – up from £2,035 the same month a year before.

Excluding bonuses, workers’ average weekly earnings across the country grew by 7.8% in the three months to July – the highest increase since comparable records began in 2001.

The latest figures show the unemployment rate in the UK surged to its highest level since July to September 2021, at 4.3% in the three months to July.

This was up from 4.2% in the previous three months, as the number of unemployed people rose by 159,000 quarter-on-quarter to 1.5 million.

In the West Midlands, unemployment rose by 0.4% in the three months to July, compared to the same period last year, meaning 5% of people were out of work.