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The difference between men and women's median hourly earnings for full-time work decreased last year, according to official figures.

The average earnings of Britain’s still growing army of self-employed workers are still lower than they were two decades ago, new research from the Resolution Foundation suggests. The think tank estimates that average earnings for people in the group in 2014/15 are only around £240 a week, 15 per cent down on 1994/95 levels in real terms. Over that time the earnings of employees are up 14 per cent at around £400 a week.

Women earn less than men throughout their working lives and the gap is widest in their 50s when they earn £8,504 less per year than full-time men. The analysis, carried out by the TUC using the Office for National Statistics’ 2015 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, compares full-time median earnings for men and women …

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Their increase is three times the national average but the unions and Labour want more to be done to close the pay gap

Earnings have risen fastest among the lowest paid due to higher minimum wage levels, figures suggest.

The Resolution Foundation estimates that average earnings for people in the group in 2014/15 are only around £240 a week, 15 per cent down on 1994/95 levels in real terms

Women are paid less than men at all ages but gap is greatest when women are in their 50s, stretching to 25.9%, says TUC