UK pay growth outpaces inflation for first time in a year

Squeeze on real earnings eases as unemployment rate falls unexpectedly to 4.2%

British workers have seen their first real pay rise in a year, as average wage growth overcomes the fading inflationary effects of the Brexit vote.

Bringing to an end 12 months of falling living standards, the latest snapshot of Britain's job market from the Office for National Statistics showed pay rising above inflation for the first time since January 2017.

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