Pay growth has eased but remains ahead of inflation, according to new official figures.
Regular pay (excluding bonuses) rose by 7.7% year-on-year in the July to September, slightly down on earlier periods. The increase was higher than average inflation over the same three months, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Taking inflation into account, wages rose by 1% — the largest increase since the three months to September 2021.
Elsewhere, the monthly data showed that the number of job vacancies fell for the 16th month in row, although the total remains 156,000 higher than before the pandemic.
The UK’s unemployment rate was largely unchanged at 4.2%, despite the economy stalling.
“Our labour market figures show a largely unchanged picture, with the proportions of people who are employed, unemployed or who are neither working nor looking for a job all little changed on the previous quarter,” said Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics.
“The number of job vacancies fell for the 16th straight month. Nevertheless, vacancies still remain well above their pre-pandemic levels.
“With inflation easing in the latest quarter, real pay is now growing at its fastest rate for two years.”
There were 229,000 working days lost because of labour disputes in September, with the majority of the strikes in the health and social work and education sectors.
