UK labour market figures: employment is up, so why is earnings growth down?
by Larry Elliott from on (#QERF)
Earlier in 2015 an unemployment rise was accompanied by an acceleration in wage growth. Now the opposite is happening
Employment rising. Earnings growth down. Living standards up. Interest rates going nowhere fast. Those were the four big themes of the latest snapshot of the UK labour market.
Let's start with jobs. After a lull in the spring and early summer, the number of people in work is going up and the number unemployed is coming down. The government boast that employment is at a record level is a bit meaningless in the light of a rising population, but more jobs are being created, the bulk of them full-time posts. Also, the unemployment rate dipped to 5.4%.
Related: Unemployment at lowest level for seven years, figures show
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