Wage figures at lowest level for two years in bad news for workers

British workers saw their wage growth fall significantly, according to new official figures. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average regular earnings growth dropped to 5.7 per cent in the three months leading up to May.

This is down from 6 per cent in the three months prior and is also the lowest level of wage growth since the quarter to September 2022. Despite this, regular earnings went up by 3.2 per cent - the highest level since the three months leading to August 2021 - when taking into account the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation.

Unemployment rates are also believed by the ONS to have remained unchanged at 4.4 per cent. However, the ONS highlighted some key signs that the employment sector is cooling with around 300,000 fewer vacancies at 889,000 in the quarter to June.

Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “Earnings growth in cash terms, while remaining relatively strong, is showing signs of slowing again. However, with inflation falling, in real terms it is at its highest rate in over two-and-a-half years.

“We continue to see overall some signs of a cooling in the labour market, with the growth in the number of employees on the payroll weakening over the medium term and unemployment gradually increasing. The number of job vacancies is down across most sectors, led by retail and hospitality. The total has now been falling for a full two years, though it remains above pre-pandemic levels.”

A slight increase in in the number of workers on UK payrolls also saw a slight rise of 0.1 per cent month-on-month in June, bringing the total figure up 16,000 to a total of 30.4 million. It comes as the Bank of England prepares its next announcement on whether it will cut interest