US inflation eases to 3.1%; UK wage growth slows and vacancies drop – business live

US consumer prices rose at a slower rate last month, with energy costs dropping in a boost to America's drivers

• Gas prices helped keep US inflation down to 3.1% in November
• UK pay growth drops sharply as job vacancies fall

Unions are concerned that there's no festive cheer in latest earnings data", given the slowdown in pay growth.

Unite the union's general secretary, Sharon Graham, said:

Although collective bargaining is delivering higher wagers for our workers - with Unite securing hundreds of millions through negotiations - these improvements are being undermined by high inflation rates.

Moreover, it's abhorrent that millions of workers are forced to stretch their payslips to simply live, while big corporations continue to fill their coffers. The battle to push up pay is therefore far from over, and we will carry on fighting to secure better pay, jobs and conditions for workers throughout the country."

Pay growth slowed in October with real wages still worth less than in 2008.

And unemployment is 200,000 higher than a year ago with vacancies falling for the seventeenth consecutive period.

Although today's data shows a slight decline in job vacancies, demand for labour remains strong.

Our own data shows that skills and labour shortages are consistently cited by business leaders as a significant pain point. These shortages drive inflation and inhibit business' ability to grow.