Record UK pay growth adds to pressure for interest rate rise

Jeremy Hunt and Bank of England's Andrew Bailey call for wage restraint to help curb inflation

• Interest rates likely to rise again despite slowing labour market

Wages increased at a faster rate than expected in May, putting pressure on the Bank of England to push up the cost of borrowing at its next meeting in August.

Earnings growth hit 7.3% in the three months to May compared with a year earlier, driven by the strongest rise in private sector pay growth outside the pandemic period of 7.7%, the Office for National Statistics said. It was the joint highest since modern records began in 2001.