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UK wage growth cools, vacancies hit five-year low
Private sector total earnings growth slowed to 4.1% in the three months to June, and the vacancies rate fell to its lowest level since spring 2021.
UK wage growth softened in June as job vacancies fell to a five-year low, according to figures from the UK Office for National Statistics cited by the Guardian. The data showed average growth in total earnings, including bonuses, eased to 4.1% in the three months to June, down from 4.4% in the three months to May.
The ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, said the results point to some softening in the jobs market, even as the overall picture stayed broadly unchanged. She also noted regular wage growth has been broadly stable, while private sector pay growth continued to ease and public sector pay growth remained elevated due to the timing of recent NHS pay awards.
Vacancies declined to 707,000 in the period from May to July, down 6,000 from the previous three months and the lowest level since spring 2021. The headline unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.9%, while workers on company payrolls fell by 13,000 in July, matching the decline in June after larger drops earlier in the year.
The Guardian also said the slowdown comes as households face renewed pressure on living standards tied to the economic impact from the Iran war, with inflation expected to be near 3% after energy bills pushed up prices. In the private sector, earnings growth excluding bonuses slowed to 2.8%, the weakest since October 2020, while public sector pay growth strengthened to 6.1% due to the timing of NHS staff pay rises.