Workers in the UK are facing the prospect of another year without a pay rise, a think-tank has warned.
The Resolution Foundation (RF) said it was expecting zero growth in real wages over the course of 2018 as a whole.
The pay squeeze which saw real wages fall back in 2017 is set to come to an end but a “noticeable” year-on-year rise in real pay is not forecast until December next year, the RF said.
Real pay remains £15-a-week below its peak before the global financial crash of 2008 and is not expected to recover to its pre-crisis levels until 2025.
The RF said more than half of the public expect their pay to remain the same or fall over the next 12 months if they stay in the same job.
One in seven said they were expecting a pay increase, while around a quarter of households expect their financial situation will worsen over the course of the year.
However, the RF said the lowest paid workers were set for a 4.3% pay rise in April as the national living wage reaches £7.83.
RF director Torsten Bell said 2017 was a “tough year for living standards as the pay squeeze returned”.
“The good news is that things will get better next year,” he said.
“The bad news is we may only go from backwards to standing still, with prospects for a meaningful pay recovery still out of sight.”
Responding to the RF, the Treasury said it was “helping families to earn more and keep more of what they earn”.
“Our national living wage is delivering the fastest pay rise for the lowest earners in 20 years and we are cutting taxes for millions of people,” a spokesman said.
