The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
UK employment rose to a record high in the three months through May after the economy created jobs at a stronger-than-expected pace.
The number of people in work rose by 137,000, taking the employment rate to 75.7 percent, the highest since records began in 1971, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday. Unemployment held at a 43-year low of 4.2 percent. Pay growth eased during the period, with wages excluding bonuses rising by 2.7 percent, as forecast. However, the slowdown may do little to ease concerns among Bank of England policy makers about inflationary pressures building in the labour market.
Money markets are pricing in an about 80 percent chance of an interest-rate hike in August, a move also expected by more than 70 percent of economists in the latest Bloomberg survey.
The latest data showed the number of vacancies in the economy rose to the highest since records began in 2001 and inactivity — those neither in work nor looking for a job — dropped by 86,000 to an all-time low of 21 percent.
“It’s clear that the labor market is still growing strongly,†said Matt Hughes, a senior statistician at the ONS.
With wage growth running ahead of inflation, households are enjoying a return to real spending power after a year-long pay squeeze. They may not be out of the woods just yet though, with a report tomorrow forecast to show inflation picked up again in June.
In May, private-sector pay growth picked up to 2.8 percent, but the public sector saw a slowdown. Unemployment fell to 4 percent in the month.
Earnings growth including bonuses slowed to 2.5 percent between March and May.