Wage growth across the UK has slowed, and the number of people on payrolls has fallen, as Britain’s jobs market continues to cool.
The latest UK labour market data, just released, shows that average regular earnings (excluding bonuses) rose by 5.6% in January to March 2025, down from 5.9% in the previous quarter.
Growth in pay including bonuses also slowed – it rose by 5.5% in January-March, down from 5.7% in the final three months of 2024.
Although wages growth slowed, earnings are still rising faster than prices in the shops. Once you adjust for inflation, pay (both regular and total) rose by 2.6% per year on both measures.
The UK’s unemployment rate has risen to its highest in almost four years, today’s labour market data shows.
At 4.5% in January-March, the jobless rate for those aged 16 and over was the highest since June-August 2021, when it was also recorded at 4.5%.
Today’s report also shows a drop in demand for workers, as UK companies adjust to the increase in the minimum wage, and higher national insurance contributions, which kicked in at the start of April.
The Office for National Statistics reports that the number of payrolled employees felled by 33,000 in April, following a 47,000 drop in March.
On an annual basis, there were 106,000 fewer payrolled employees in April than a year ago, the ONS estimates.In another sign that firms are being cautious, the number of vacancies in the UK fell by 42,000 in the January-March quarter, the 34th consecutive quarterly decline in a row. The biggest fall came in the construction sector.
The ONS director of economic statistics, Liz McKeown, says: “Wage growth slowed slightly in the latest period but remains relatively strong, with public and private sectors now showing little difference.
“The broader picture continues to be of the labour market cooling, with the number of employees on payroll falling in the first quarter of the year. The number of job vacancies has also fallen again, with the rate of decline increasing in the last few months.”
The agenda
• 7am BST: UK labour market report
• 10am BST: ZEW survey of eurozone economic confidence
• 10am BST: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) to quiz the CEO, CFO and Chair of Thames Water
• 1.30pm BST: US inflation report for April
We'll be tracking all the main events throughout the day … |
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