Missing wage rises give lie to picture of full employment | Larry Elliott

With non-UK nationals representing most of 300,000 rise in number employed, labour supply is helping keep lid on wages

Britain has all the hallmarks of a full-employment economy. The employment rate is at a record level, unemployment is at its lowest in more than a decade, and the percentage of women working is at its highest since modern records began.

The one thing missing from this picture is an increase in wages. Full-employment economies are normally good for workers because they take advantage of labour shortages to strike better deals with employers.