The UK's gender pay gap for full-time employees narrowed to 6.8% in April 2026, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This marks a continued decline from 7.2% a year earlier and from 9.4% a decade ago.
The data, released on Wednesday, also showed that the proportion of workers in low-paid jobs increased slightly to 2.8% this year, up from 2.6% in 2025. Meanwhile, the share of high-paid employee jobs rose to 23.7% in April 2026, compared with 23.4% a year earlier.
Pay figures by gender
Median hourly earnings for full-time employees stood at £21.51 for men and £20.05 for women. When including part-time workers, median earnings were £20.17 for men and £17.69 for women, reflecting the larger proportion of women in part-time employment.
The gender pay gap measures differences in pay for men and women in employment across the UK. It is not a measure of the difference in pay between men and women in the same jobs.
Variations across occupations and ages
While the gender pay gap has been falling over time, men continued to earn more than women in full-time work across all major occupation groups. The gap was particularly wide in skilled trades, at 12.7%, while sales and customer service roles saw the narrowest gap, at 1.7%.
Among younger workers, the gap was smaller, with a 4.1% difference for those aged between 30 and 39. The ONS data highlights that progress on pay equality has been uneven across different sectors and age groups.
