- Average earnings (ex-bonuses) grew at 7.2% over the year
- Surprise fall in unemployment over the 3 months to April compared to the 3 months to March
- Long term sick reaches another record high
Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, comments on the latest UK jobs figures:
“Resilient seems to be the key word when talking about where the UK jobs market is right now. Vacancy numbers might have fallen for the 11th successive month and the headlines have been full of job cut announcements, but unemployment is still skirting all-time lows.
“And that’s having a knock on to wages. Employers know how hard their workers are finding life right now. Every month seems to bring new pain at the supermarket and with many homeowners facing impossible hikes to mortgage payments, pay rises might seem like the only way to keep valued staff on board.
“And although those pay rises are helping bolster spending power as inflation begins its excruciatingly slow fall, people are still not feeling any better off. The sums still don’t add up and that’s fuelling unrest and industrial action with many workers simply unable to make budgets stretch to where they need to, boxing them into a corner.
“But those pay rises will be giving members of the Bank of England’s MPC a massive headache. They will be acutely aware that raising rates is adding to the pressures being felt by many households, whether they’re homeowners with mortgages or renters.
“Pay rises have helped mitigate rising costs to a degree, but they’ve also helped maintain purchasing power and that just fuels the very thing that’s causing all the pain in the first place.
“Central bankers warned us that the medicine would have a foul taste, but they didn’t expect they’d still be toping up the dose at this point in the year.
“There are signs that the labour market is loosening up, but the number of people struggling with long term sickness has shot up to a new record high and for many people who want to work childcare issues or other caring responsibilities are getting in the way.
“The government has announced new measures to help parents cope with those costs but they will take time to work their way into the system. Similarly, with the NHS crushed under the weight of demand it isn’t a quick process to get people fit for work, meaning those numbers show little sign of changing anytime soon.”
