UK wages top 2008 peak as employment hits record highUK wages topped their pre-financial crisis peak for the first time at the end of 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as UK employment hit a record high of 32.9m people. The employment rate reached 76.5% over the three months, while unemployment fell by 16,000 to 1.29m. Average regular pay rose to £512 per week in December, which in real terms is £1 higher than it was in August 2007.