Bank of England under pressure for interest rate rise after ONS error

Economists say mistake helps support case for monetary policy committee to raise rates as early as next month

The UK's official statistics agency has added to the pressure on the Bank of England over whether to raise interest rates as soon as next month after admitting it underestimated the pace of rising labour costs.

The Office for National Statistics said on Monday it made a mistake in its original calculations for the growth in unit labour costs, which is the price paid by employers to produce a given amount of economic output. The measure stood at an annual 2.4% in the three months to June, as opposed to the 1.6% initially published by the country's official statistics body on Friday.

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