UK employers cut back on bonuses and hiring as economic slowdown hits jobs market

Unemployment remains steady but vacancy rates drop and pay growth slows

• Business live - latest updates

• Analysis: this is a slowdown, not a collapse

Employers have cut annual pay increases and pared back hiring in recent months as the economic slowdown took its toll on the jobs market.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released on Tuesday, showed that UK unemployment edged higher in the three months to June but the official jobless rate was unchanged at 4.7%, a four-year high.