Gloom for UK workers as incomes flatline and jobs market falters

Falls in inflation and interest rates could leave Britain better off this year, but at the cost of high unemployment

• UK unemployment rate hits five-year high

Private sector pay increased on average by just 3.4% in December, according to the latest official labour market data released on Tuesday, the same as the rise in inflation at the end of last year.

No wonder the vast majority of workers are feeling the winter blues. Their incomes, adjusted for rising shop prices, have flatlined, leaving them no better off than they were a year earlier.