Dividends from UK-listed firms up 16.5% in 2022, far outstripping pay rises

Rise in share income particularly steep for investors in banks and oil companies

The regular dividends that investors receive from owning shares in UK-listed companies soared by 16.5% in 2022, far outstripping wage growth in either the private or public sector.

Investors' returns from underlying dividends - excluding volatile one-off payouts - reached 84.8bn during the year, partly owing to a 3.8bn boost from the weakness of the pound, which inflated the figures for dividends paid in dollars.