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| UK pay growth rate misses expectations for April as worker real wages turn negative | UK pay growth rate misses expectations for April as worker real wages turn negative |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Average wages grew by just 2.1 per cent in the three months to April, well below the 2.7 per cent rate of inflation in that month, according to the Office for National Statistics. | |
| That means after adjusting for inflation wages fell by 0.6 per cent. | That means after adjusting for inflation wages fell by 0.6 per cent. |
| This represents the biggest real wages decline since August 2014, reflecting the post-Brexit vote slump in sterling. | |
| City of London analysts had forecast nominal pay to grow by 2.4 per cent over the period. | City of London analysts had forecast nominal pay to grow by 2.4 per cent over the period. |
| Excluding bonuses, nominal wages rose by just 1.7 per cent in April, versus expectations of a 2 per cent increase, suggesting that employers are keeping a right lid on pay settlements in the face of uncertainty over Brexit. | |
| Figures show that between 2017 and 2015 the UK had the worst real wages performance of any OECD country except Greece. | |
| And the latest ONS statistics mean average wages are still around 5 per cent below their level at the end of 2017. | |
| Frances O'Grady of the TUC said the figures made the case for an increase in public sector pay. | |
| "It’s time to bin the artificial pay restrictions on nurses, midwives and other public sector workers. Britain needs a pay rise, not more pressure on household budgets,” she said. | |
| The spike in inflation, which was just 0.1 per cent in May 2016, is mainly due to the slump in the pound in the wake of last June's Brexit vote, which has sent import costs soaring. | |
| On Tuesday the ONS reported that inflation rose again to 2.9 per cent in May, implying further falls in real wages head. | |
| However, todays ONS statistics also showed continued momentum in employment, with the numbers in work rising by 109,000 in the three months to February, leaving the 16-64 employment rate at a record high of 74.8 per cent. | |
| The numbers in unemployment fell by 50,000, leaving the headline jobless rate steady at 4.6 per cent, the lowest since 1975. |