This year has been the worst for real wage growth for nearly half a century, it has been warned.
The TUC said once the rising cost of living is taken into account, wages have fallen by 3% in 2022.
It is the biggest drop since 1977 and the second worst on record since 1945.
Workers have lost £76 a month on average this year as a result of their pay not keeping pace with inflation, with those in the public sector losing £180, according to the trade union body.
The study indicates nurses' real pay fell by £1,800 over the last year, paramedics' by £2,400 and midwives' by £2,400.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady argued that it is wrong that ordinary families are being “brutally exposed” to rising costs as ministers lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses.
She said: "People should be able to look forward to Christmas without having to worry about how they'll pay for it, but family budgets have been shredded by soaring bills and more than a decade of pay being held down.
“The Conservatives have presided over the longest real wage squeeze in over 200 years. That is a badge of shame.
“The Tories' failure to get pay rising has left millions of households brutally exposed to the cost-of-living emergency. It's time to reward work - not wealth.
“We cannot be a country where NHS and teaching staff have to use food banks while City bankers are given unlimited bonuses."
Ms O’Grady said the current wave of industrial action in Britain is the result of workers “being pushed to breaking point” by years of pay austerity.
The unions boss called for ministers to engage in meaningful talks.
“The Government only have themselves to blame,” she said. “They have chosen to hold down the pay of our pandemic heroes and make the staffing crisis in our public services worse.
She added: “The Government are preventing meaningful negotiations from taking place.
“Ministers seem more interested in escalating disputes than resolving them.”
