Tuesday, May 13, 2025 - Wage growth in the UK has slowed, and unemployment has risen to its highest level in nearly four years, signalling further signs of weakness in the jobs market as businesses grapple with rising employee costs.
According to data released by the Office for National
Statistics (ONS), average regular earnings growth dropped to 5.6% in the three
months to March, marking the lowest rate since the three months to November
2024.
Despite the slowdown, wages continued to outpace inflation,
with real pay, adjusted for Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation, rising by
2.6%. However, the overall outlook for the labour market has dimmed, with
unemployment increasing to 4.5% in the first quarter of 2025, up from 4.4% in
the previous three-month period. This represents the highest unemployment rate
since the June-August 2021 period.
The latest ONS data also showed a continued decline in job
vacancies, which have now remained below pre-pandemic levels for the second
consecutive quarter. In addition, the number of workers on UK payrolls fell by
33,000 in April, bringing the total to 30.3 million.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS,
described the developments as further evidence of a cooling labour market.
“Wage growth slowed slightly in the latest period but remains relatively
strong, with public and private sectors now showing little difference,” she
said.
She added, “The broader picture continues to be of the
labour market cooling, with the number of employees on payroll falling in the
first quarter of the year. The number of job vacancies has also fallen again,
with the rate of decline increasing in the last few months.”
The figures come amid growing concerns over how increased
labour costs are impacting company hiring decisions and overall economic
momentum.
0 Comments