Wages excluding bonuses rose by 3.1% in the three months to August, compared with a year ago, their fastest pace in nearly 10 years, official figures show.
Over the same period, the inflation rate was 2.5%.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said that UK unemployment fell by 47,000 to 1.36 million in the three months to August.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4%.
David Freeman, the ONS’s head of labour market, said: “People’s regular monthly wage packets grew at their strongest rate in almost a decade, but, allowing for inflation, the growth was much more subdued.
“The number of people in work remained at a near-record high, while the unemployment rate was at its lowest since the mid-1970s.”
Last week, Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane said he saw signs of a “new dawn” for wage growth.
