UK wages fall at fastest rate since 2014 as cost-of-living squeeze bites

Unemployment rate falls below pre-Covid level but rising prices and energy bills hit wages

Average wages in Britain have fallen at the fastest rate since 2014 as annual pay growth fails to keep pace with rising inflation amid Britain's cost of living crisis.

The Office for National Statistics said that annual growth in regular pay, excluding bonuses, fell by 1% in the three months to January after adjusting for its preferred measure of inflation - the biggest fall since July 2014.