Men and younger workers suffered the biggest falls in wages as a result of the financial crash, according to a leading economic think-tank.

A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that while the employment rate had returned to its pre-crisis levels, wages remain well below their 2008 peak.

Median hourly wages in 2014 were still 4.7% lower in real terms than they were in 2008.

However while pay rates for men were still 7.3% down on what they were before the crash, among women the fall has been just 2.5%.

The IFS said one of the reasons for the discrepancy was that women were "significantly" more likely than men to work in the public sector, where pay has fallen by less than in the private sector.

The report also found that while hourly pay rates had recovered to their 2008 levels for employees aged 60 and over, among 22 to 29-year-olds they were still down by 9%.