Wage growth slips back as jobless rate hits highest since 2021 – ONS
Wage growth slips back as jobless rate hits highest since 2021
- UK regular earnings growth eased to 4.7% in the three months to August, marking a new low for over three years.
- The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.8% in the same period, its highest level in over four years, though the ONS advises caution with this figure.
- Despite these figures, the Office for National Statistics noted signs of the jobs market "levelling off," with a slight rise in payroll numbers between July and August and the smallest decline in vacancies since February.
- Real earnings growth, adjusted for inflation, fell to 0.9%, the lowest in two years, while private sector pay growth slowed to 4.4%.
- A record 1.7 million over-65s are now employed, and economists suggest the labour market may be stabilising, though it remains more fragile than in recent years.