The employment rate came in at 74.4%, lower than the previous quarter.
Unemployment came in at 4.4%, up slightly on the previous quarter and in line with market expectations of 4.4% (Trading Economics).
Economic Inactivity fell quarter-on-quarter at 22.1%, whilst annual wage growth came in at 5.7%, versus 5.9% in the three months to April and market expectations of 5.7% (Trading Economics).
Nicholas Hyett, Investment Manager at Wealth Club, said, “Wage growth may be starting to slow in the UK, although all sectors still reported above inflation pay rises – from a low of 3.0% in construction to 6.7% in finance and business services.
“That’s great news for workers, but less good for the Bank of England since it underpins stubbornly high inflation rates in the service sector.
“Impressive wage growth comes despite a modest rise in unemployment and fall in vacancies – which are usually signs the employment market is weakening a touch. That could mean wage growth starts to fade from here, as we annualise pay rises made in the second half of last year. If so, it would be among the last pandemic hangovers to fade, and could mean we see interest rates start to fall quite quickly.”
Strong levels of M&A activity are expected across UK manufacturing for the remainder of 2024, as dealmakers see a rise in business confiden
Growing uncertainty over the motor finance scandal has prompted a British merchant bank to sell its wealth business for £200m.
After the Federal Reserve’s monster 0.5 percentage point cut in US borrowing costs on Wednesday, it seemed strange that the Bank of England should sit on its
There has been no change to the UK interest rate despite the US and European central banks all moving to cut in the last week. The Bank of England