* UK median earnings in April 2021 4.3% higher than year
before
* Return from furlough and loss of low-paid jobs raises
average
* Pay rises fastest for low-paid and younger workers
* Gender pay gap widens slightly, below pre-pandemic size
(Adds detail and background)
By David Milliken
LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Full-time earnings in Britain
rose by the most since 2008 in April, up by 4.3% from a year
earlier, although the government's furlough scheme and other
distortions related to COVID-19 probably pushed up growth,
official data showed on Tuesday.
The Office for National Statistics' annual earnings survey
is normally the gold standard of British labour market data,
covering many more workers than its monthly figures.
But both series have been affected by the government's
furlough programme - under which millions of workers had
temporarily reduced pay rather than becoming unemployed - and
the fact that job losses were concentrated among the low paid.
Tuesday's data paints a robust picture for pay growth that
is similar to that of the monthly figures which the Bank of
England is watching closely for signs of longer-term inflation
pressures as it considers whether to raise interest rates next
week.
Median full-time weekly pay in April of 611 pounds was 4.3%
above its level a year earlier in cash terms and 1.7% higher
after adjusting for inflation.
However, median full-time annual earnings in the 12 months
to April were 0.6% lower than in 12 months to the end of April
2020 at 31,285 pounds ($43,023), reflecting lower pay during the
pandemic.
"Pay increased for most workers in 2021, but particularly
those that were most affected by the pandemic in 2020, most
notably younger employees, men and the lowest-paid occupations,"
the ONS said.
Pay for 'elementary occupations' such as cleaning and
labouring jobs rose by 7.7%, while pay for managers and
directors showed no change.
Another factor pushing up pay at the bottom of the wage
scale was a 2% rise in the minimum wage to 8.91 pounds an hour
in April. The government announced on Monday a 6.6% rise in the
minimum wage to 9.50 pounds an hour from April 2022.
Britain's gender pay gap - the difference between average
hourly earnings for men and women - widened to 7.9% for
full-time workers in April 2021 from 7.0% in April 2020, but was
below its pre-pandemic level of 9.0% the ONS said.
The gender pay gap does not measure the difference in pay
between men and women doing the same job, and nor does it adjust
for differences in average qualifications, experience or the
sectors men and women work in.
The gender pay gap stayed close to zero for full-time
workers aged under 40, but older women were paid around 12% less
than men of the same age. Previous analysis had linked this to
fewer women than men moving into high-paid managerial roles, the
ONS said.
($1 = 0.7272 pounds)
(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by William Schomberg and
Andy Bruce)