UK wage growth remains steady as employment stagnates

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to myFT Digest for UK jobs. Delivered directly to your inbox.

Wage growth in Britain stabilized in the three months to September as employment stagnated, according to official data confirming the Bank of England's view that labor market pressures are slowly easing.

Average weekly earnings growth in the private sector was 4.8% in the three months to September, unchanged in the three months to August, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.

The reading was the lowest since the winter of 2021-22 and was consistent with the central bank's forecast last week when it cut interest rates to 4.75% and said further easing would be gradual.

After the data was released, the pound fell 1.1% to $1.273.

But the BoE's chief economist, Huw Pill, told a conference in London on Tuesday morning that data showed wage growth remained at a fairly high level and at a level that would be difficult to reconcile given the UK's productivity growth prospects. . With the UK's inflation target.

He added: We have seen a significant reduction in inflation in the UK economy, which has led to the easing of monetary policy restrictions… but that does not mean the job is done. In our view, underlying inflationary pressures remain in the UK economy.

Economists still believe wage growth has slowed enough for the BoE to cut interest rates again next year after a brief pause at its December meeting.

Gabriella Higgins, economist at Axa Investment Managers, said the figures suggested the labor market would ease enough for banks to continue making gradual cuts over the next year or so.

However, in the coming months headline pay growth will accelerate due to recent public sector pay deals that are still being reflected in ONS data.

Public sector wage growth, excluding bonuses, was higher than the private sector rate at 4.7% in the three months to September, down from 5.2% a month earlier.

The ONS also published tax record figures showing a fall of 9,000 in salaried employment between August and September, while provisional figures for October pointed to a further fall of 5,000.

Meanwhile, from August to October, vacancies fell by 35,000 per quarter to 831,000. Job postings have decreased compared to a year ago in almost all sectors except real estate and construction, where employment prospects have improved as the housing market has revived due to low interest rates.

Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said changes in the budget to payroll taxes and minimum wages could further cool the jobs market as some employers lack confidence to hire more people due to rising overhead costs.

Separate figures from the ONS Labor Force Survey showed the unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in the three months to September, up from 4% a month earlier. The number of claimants, reflecting claims for unemployment benefits, also increased slightly in the previous month, increasing by 27,600 to 1.806 million in October.

However, both of these measures are currently unreliable as the ONS is struggling to restore LFS after a sharp decline in responses and the rules for claiming benefits have changed.

Rob Wood of consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics said LFS-based data was so unreliable that it seriously complicated the monetary policy committee's job of trying to set interest rates.

But he said the overall picture shows unemployment continuing to trend upward, job growth slowing ahead of the Budget and wage growth also gradually slowing. He added: That's enough [Monetary Policy Committee] Gradually reduce interest rates.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos