UK Pay growth relents

Wednesday, 15 Aug, 2007

The year to June 2007 saw earnings - including bonuses - rise by 3.3 per cent, in comparison to an increase of 3.5 per cent in the year to May.

According to the new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), slower wage growth in the private sector is to blame for this earnings dip.

In the private sector, pay growth including bonuses was 3.4 per cent in the year to June, which compares to 3.1 per cent in the public sector. With bonuses excluded, wage growth reached 3.5 per cent in the private sector, but remained at 3.1 per cent in the public sector.

ONS has also reported today that there has been another fall in the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance benefit.

The employment rate for people of working age was 74.4 per cent for the three months to June 2007, up by 0.1 per cent from the previous quarter and 0.1 per cent over the year.

Moreover, the unemployment rate was just 5.4 per cent in the three-month period, down by 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter and 0.1 per cent over the year.

Dr John Philpott, chief economist of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, observed: "The latest labour market figures are full of good news for policy makers - more people in work, fewer jobless, and a pay scene that poses little threat to efforts to contain price inflation."

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