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Aldi has announced its second pay rise of 2024 as supermarkets battle for staff and prepare for higher minimum wage levels.

The increase means the minimum hourly rate for store workers at Aldi will be £12.40 nationwide from 1 June.

These changes will benefit more than 28,000 store colleagues.

The compulsory National Living Wage is set to rise to £11.44 an hour in April and for the first time it will include 21 and 22-year-olds.

Aldi is now the UK's fourth largest supermarket chain with more than 1,000 stores and 45,000 members of staff.

The retailer said its new minimum hourly rate for store assistants and deputy store managers outside the M25 would rise from £12 to £12.40.

For those within the M25, pay will increase from £13.55 an hour to £13.65.

The new rates are above the Real Living Wage, which is a voluntary, unofficial hourly rate overseen by the Living Wage Foundation charity based on what it believes people need to earn.

The Real Living Wage rate for workers in the capital - sometimes called the London Living Wage - is currently £13.15 an hour. In the rest of the UK, it is £12.

The past few weeks have seen a series of pay rise announcements from the big supermarket chains, including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and M&S.

The Bank of England watches pay rises closely to see if they risk adding to inflationary pressures in the economy. If pay is rising too quickly then the Bank might be less willing to cut interest rates.

Aldi said its latest move meant it had now invested £79m in pay so far this year.

The retailer is also planning to create 5,500 new jobs in the UK this year as it seeks to increase its market share.