Unemployment rate remains at 4.2% in three months to October

by · Mail Online

The UK jobs market looks to be holding firm as figures showed real wages rising at the fastest rate in more than two years.

Regular pay, excluding bonuses, was 7.3 per cent higher than a year earlier in the three months to October, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was slower than the 7.8 per cent hike recorded in the previous quarter - but crucially Brits were getting better off due to falling inflation. Taking the headline CPI into account the increase was 1.2 per cent, a level not seen since 2021.

Meanwhile, the rate of unemployment remained unchanged at 4.2 per cent over the period. 

The number of vacancies was down by 45,000 in the three months to November, but at 949,000 remains higher than pre-pandemic.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt hailed the 'positive' signs, which come as the Bank of England is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold when the latest decision is announced on Thursday.

Analysts have suggested that Mr Hunt is being handed a warchest for more tax cuts by falls in the cost of servicing government debt, as markets bring forward estimates for when Threadneedle Street will start to bring rates down. 

Taking the headline CPI into account the increase in regular wages was 1.2 per cent in the three months to October, a level not seen since 2021
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt hailed the 'positive' signs, which come as the Bank of England is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold when the latest decision is announced on Thursday

ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: 'Job vacancies fell again. This is now the longest period of decline on record, longer than in the immediate aftermath of the 2008 downturn.

'Nevertheless, the number of vacancies still remains well above its pre-pandemic level.

, but more real-time figures estimated the number of workers on UK payrolls fell by 13,000 in November to 30.2 million. 

'While annual growth in earnings remains high in cash terms, there are some signs that wage pressure might be easing overall.

'However, as inflation has been falling more quickly, pay continues to grow in real terms.'

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: 'It's positive to see inflation continue to fall and real wages growing.

'At the autumn statement, I announced an ambitious set of measures to get more people into work and boost economic growth.

'This includes a significant expansion of health support and an over £9billion per year tax cut for employees and the self-employed, worth over £450 for the average worker.'

The rate of unemployment remained unchanged at 4.2 per cent in the three months to October