Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Key term
What it means
Put everyone's pay in order from lowest to highest. The middle figure is the median. A few very highly paid people can push another kind of average, the mean, up much more than the median. When comparing pay figures, check whether they are for an hour, a week or a year, and whether they include full-time workers, part-time workers or both.
Example
For five workers earning £20,000, £25,000, £30,000, £35,000 and £390,000, median annual earnings are £30,000.
Why it matters
The median can give a better picture of typical pay than the mean, although it cannot show the whole range of wages.
Also known as
median pay
Related terms
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Average
A number used to describe what is typical in a group. There is more than one way to work it out.
Read more -
House price to earnings ratio
A house price divided by a year's earnings, showing how many times annual pay the price represents.
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Mean earnings
Total earnings for a group divided by the number of people or jobs counted.
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Median
The middle value when a set of numbers is put in order.
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Real wages
Pay measured by what it can buy after allowing for changes in prices.
Read more -
Social mobility
How people's income, work or other life outcomes compare with the circumstances they grew up in.
Read more
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News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
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Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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