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Business Today
Business live
UK starting salaries rise at slowest pace in almost three years, as markets brace for US jobs report
Live  
UK starting salaries rise at slowest pace in almost three years, as markets brace for US jobs report
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
Headlines
Paul Nowak  
UK anti-strike law is ‘galvanising moment’ for unions, says TUC boss
UK anti-strike law is ‘galvanising moment’ for unions, says TUC boss
Employment  
UK firms limit hiring permanent staff amid economic stresses
Financial sector  
Jeremy Hunt’s post-Brexit City shake-up is ‘damp squib’, say MPs
‘Loyalty penalties’  
UK’s top mobile firms face £3.3bn class action lawsuit
Transport  
Passengers trapped on cold, dark trains as travel chaos hits west London
Corporate governance  
UK to remain global centre of ‘dirty money’ without offshore registers, MPs say
Tesla  
Carmaker loses legal action in Sweden as dispute with Nordic unions escalates
Games Workshop  
Retailer gives staff £2,500 bonus as half-year profits rise 12%
Spotify  
CFO cashes in £7.2m in shares after value surges on news of job cuts
Somerset Capital  
Investment firm co-founded by Jacob Rees-Mogg to close after losing top client
Automotive industry  
More than 1,000 workers sign up to unionise at top US Volkswagen plant
Cop28  
Talks set to intensify in bid to break impasse over fossil fuels
Andrew Forrest  
Mining billionaire in scathing attack on oil and gas industry
Fantasy house hunt  
Homes in converted mills for sale
Today's agenda
UK salary growth is cooling as cautious employers cut back on their hiring plans.

Starting salaries paid to new staff rose at the slowest pace in 32 months in November, the latest poll of recruitment firms from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has shown.

Although there was still competition for candidates with sought-after skills, recruitment firms reported that clients were under greater budgetary pressures.

This led to the slowest rise in permanent starters’ pay since March 2021, with starting salary inflation easing in all four monitored English regions except the Midlands.

The REC and KPMG also reported that pay for temporary workers rose at the lowest rate in 33 months. Temporary wages actually fell in the north of England but rose at the fastest pace in London.

That implies the UK labour market is weakening, a blow to workers, but it should cheer the Bank of England as it assesses whether interest rates are restrictive enough to bring down inflation to its 2% target.

The US jobs market will also be the focus as investors await the final non-farm payroll report of the year. November’s NFP is expected to show a pickup in hiring.

US payrolls are expected to have risen by 180,000 jobs, ahead of the 150,000 increase in October.

But wage growth could slow, with average earnings growth tipped to slow to 4% from 4.1%.

The NFP will be closely watched in the markets, as a gauge as to whether the US central bank has lifted interest rates high enough to cool inflation and pull off a "soft landing".

The agenda
• 9am GMT: UN food inflation index for December
• 1.30pm GMT: US non-farm payroll report for November

We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
Opinion
Higher interest rates are here to stay, so we need a rethink
Higher interest rates are here to stay, so we need a rethink
Editorial  
The Guardian view on Sellafield scandals: ministers must put public safety before secrecy
 

Natalie Hanman

Head of Environment, The Guardian

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Media
BBC  
Corporation condemns low licence fee rise, warning of impact on creative sector
Corporation condemns low licence fee rise, warning of impact on creative sector
Phillip Schofield  
TV presenter's ‘patronage’ assisted lover’s ITV career, review finds
Spotlight
Japanese town hopes to make name for itself with population boost
Desperately seeking Suzukis  
Japanese town hopes to make name for itself with population boost
The shrinking town of Kainan in Wakayama prefecture is offering money to people to relocate there – but there’s a catch
Popular on business
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