UK wage growth slides to lowest rate in six months

Workers unable to demand higher pay despite lowest unemployment since 1970s

The rate of pay growth for British workers has fallen to the lowest level in six months, despite record numbers of people in work across the country, official figures show.

Heaping pressure on the Bank of England to delay raising interest rates from as early as August, the latest snapshot for the British labour market showed the lowest level of unemployment since the mid-1970s was yet to help workers demand higher rates of pay. High rates of employment and low levels of unemployment usually signal rising wages.