Vicky McKeever writes:
UK pay growth slowed in the three months to March, with the jobs market also showing signs of cooling, amid heightened economic uncertainty.
Average regular earnings excluding bonuses rose 5.6% in the period on an annual basis, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That was down from 5.9% in the three months to February, but still easily outstripped inflation, which fell to 2.6% in March.
Annual growth in real terms — adjusted for inflation — fell to 1.8%, compared with 2.1% in the previous quarter.
There were 761,000 job vacancies between February and April, according to estimates from the ONS, which was down 42,000 on the previous three months. This figure was 34,000 below the number of vacancies in January to March 2020.
Early estimates showed that the number of payrolled employees fell by 33,000 in April on the month and declined by 106,000 on the year, following an decrease of 63,000 in the year to March.
The unemployment rate came in at 4.5% in January to March, which was up from 4.4% in the previous quarter.
