020 7898 0500Total earnings, including bonuses, were up 2.3% in the three months to February compared to the same period a year ago. While these figures are unchanged from the previous three-month period, the markets had expected a decline of 0.1% to 2.2%. However, after inflation, wages were up just 0.2% year-on-year including bonuses and 0.1% excluding bonuses. This is the weakest growth we have seen since 2014.
Unemployment remains extremely low at 4.7%, a figure the Office for National Statistics says has not been lower since 1975.
Sterling first climbed when the employment figures were released, then fell back slightly ahead of the last trading day before the Easter break.
