UK wage growth slows as unemployment remains unchanged
16 January 2024, 07:29 | Updated: 16 January 2024, 08:56
UK wage growth has slowed as unemployment remained unchanged in the three months to November.
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Unemployment stayed the same at 4.2% while average regular earnings growth, excluding bonuses, eased back to 6.6%.
It marks a drop from the revised 7.2% in the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics said.
But pay lifted 1.4% after taking Consumer Prices Index inflation into account.
The number of job vacancies fell by 49,000 over the three months to December, becoming the 18th period in a row that openings have fallen and the longest run of falls ever recorded.
Meanwhile, November had the lowest number of strikes days for 18 months. Industrial action in the health sector slowed down, with several NHS walkouts being paused.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: "With inflation falling, it's heartening to see real wages growing for the fifth month in a row.
"This is on top of the record cut to national insurance worth nearly £1,000 in a typical household with two working people, putting more money in their pockets."
Work and pensions secretary Mel Stride said: "Today’s figures are yet more evidence the economy is turning a corner with the numbers of jobs hitting a record high and inactivity falling by nearly 270,000 last year.
"Our £2.5 billion Back to Work plan will open up the benefits of employment for thousands more people, while we continue to make work pay by cutting taxes and boosting the national living wage."
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “The overall picture continues to be broadly stable, with the unemployment rate unchanged and the employment rate up slightly on the previous three months.
“Job vacancies fell again, with the retail area seeing the biggest fall. However, the overall number of vacancies still remains above its pre-pandemic level.
“November saw the lowest number of days lost to strikes for 18 months, driven by a big drop in the health sector.
“While annual pay growth remains high in cash terms, we continue to see signs that wage pressures might be easing overall. However, with inflation still falling more quickly, earnings continued to grow in real terms.”
