UK WAGE GROWTH REBOUNDS, BUT JOB MARKET WEAKNESS PERSISTS

LONDON, Dec 17 (Bernama-PA Media/dpa) -- UK wage growth has risen for the first time in more than a year, but signs point to an ongoing cooling off in the jobs market amid mounting uncertainty following recent budget measures, reported PA Media/dpa news agency.

Official figures released on Tuesday show regular earnings growth jumped to 5.2 per cent in the three months to October, up from 4.9 per cent in the previous three months. This is the first time it has risen since August last year.

Earnings growth also outstripped inflation by 3 per cent in the three months to October, with Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation taken into account.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated the number of people on UK payrolls fell by 35,000 to 30.4 million between October and November, although this is subject to revision.

It added that the number of vacancies fell by 31,000 to 818,000 in the three months to November.

Figures showed the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3 per cent in the three months to October, although the ONS added a note of caution given changes to the jobs survey.

It comes as there are fears over an impact on hiring and jobs after the budget announced steep increases in employers' national insurance contributions and a minimum wage rise next year.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: "After slowing steadily for over a year, growth in pay excluding bonuses increased slightly in the latest period, driven by stronger growth in private sector pay."

On payrolls, she added: "We have seen annual growth rates continue to slow, showing a consistent trend with our latest jobs data from employers.

"The number of job vacancies has also fallen again, though the total remains a little above where it was before the pandemic."

-- BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa