Unions and MPs from all parties urged the chancellor to go further in the budget to boost household incomes after official pay data showed an increase this year only returned average wages to 2009 levels.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that in the 12 years from 2009 to 2021, the inflation-adjusted level of median pay fell and then recovered to leave workers no better off.

This compares with an increase of 24% in real terms between 1997 and 2009.

With inflation expected to rise to 5% in the coming months and most households squeezed by higher taxes from next April, critics said Rishi Sunak needed to make more government funds available to support people hit hard by the pandemic.

The TUC general secretary, Frances

Unions and MPs of all parties urge Sunak to boost household incomes

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