The Office for National Statistics said wages in real terms declined by 2.6% in the three months to November, among the largest falls in growth since comparable records began in 2001.
Wage growth in the private sector, before adjusting for inflation, reached 7.2%, as wages in the public sector continued to trail significantly behind with a growth rate of 3.3%.
The figures come as the government is under mounting pressure to increase public sector pay amid rolling disputes, after teachers in England and Wales voted to strike and nurses prepare to take further action.
Almost half a million working days were lost in November, the highest level since November 2011, as railway workers and Royal Mail postal operatives walked out on strike. The ONS said the number of days lost to strikes since June was the highest in more than 30 years.
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