PAY IS ON THE WANE AGAIN
Annual wage growth has slowed, despite a record number of people being in a job.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that average weekly pay rose 2.5% in the three months to May, down from 2.6% in April and the lowest for six months.
That was in spite of the employment rate – the percentage of people in work – reaching an all-time high of 75.7%. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2%, the lowest since 1975.
Experts are puzzled about why wages aren’t rising faster but reckon it is partly due to the changing nature of work, with more people working part-time or on zero-hours contracts.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Boosting pay packets should be a priority for the Government, but ministers are failing to act.”
Ian Stewart, chief economist at Deloitte, said: “Low unemployment is yet to generate serious wage pressures, and Brexit uncertainties reign.”
There were 32.4million people in work in the three months to May. Job vacancy numbers rose by 7,000 to 824,000, the highest since 2001.