Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Weakest wage growth in 3yrs
WORKERS are enduring a “deepening wage crisis” despite the jobless rate hitting a 42-year low.
The average worker saw weekly pay, including any bonus, rise 1.8% year on year in the three months to May.
The figure was down from 2.1% in April and is the weakest growth for nearly three years, said the Office for National Statistics.
Yet it coincided with upbeat data from the ONS, with a record number of people in work and unemployment falling to 1.49 million. It meant the unemployment rate fell to 4.5%, the lowest since 1975.
Experts are baffled by the low wage growth with theories including fear of asking for a rise, to declining union membership.
Economist Chris Williamson, from IHS Markit, called it “a symptom of low-pay deals for people that are not changing jobs, as well as the mix of jobs in the economy shifting towards lower-paid positions.”
Weak income growth comes as inflation has soared. Real wages – after taking inflation into account – fell by 0.7% in the three months to May, or 0.5% excluding bonuses. The TUC said it was evidence of a “deepening wage crisis”.
General Secretary Frances O’grady said: “Ministers must set out a plan to get real wages rising across the public and the private sectors.”
Yet Employment Minister Damian Hinds focused on the positive. He said: “Unemployment is low and there are over three-quarters of a million vacancies. This is great news for millions of working families.”
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