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UK wage growth rises as unemployment sticks at 44-year low - business live UK wage growth rises; Trump blasts the Fed again - business live
(over 1 year later)
Once you adjust for inflation, real basic wage growth was actually flat in the last quarter at 1.5%. Here’s my colleague Richard Partington on the UK unemployment report:
Why aren’t workers getting larger pay rises, given unemployment is so low? The ONS says.... Jobs growth in the British economy has cooled after months of employers appearing to shrug off Brexit concerns.
In a tightening labour market, it would be expected that labour shortages would put pressure on wages to increase. However, the uncertainty in the economy may be reducing the impact of such pressure. Employment in Britain increased by 32,000 to reach a record high of 32.75 million in the three months to April, according to the Office for National Statistics, fuelled by a rise in the numbers of self-employed people and women entering the workforce.
UK wage growth was also stronger than expected. The rise was the weakest since August and significantly down on the average 167,000 recorded in the first quarter, although it continued to show that the UK jobs market was defying the worst fears over Brexit.
Average earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 3.4% per annum in the February-April quarter. That’s up from 3.3% last month. Commenting on today’s labour market figures, Deputy Head of Labour Market Matt Hughes said https://t.co/M2pZEXYzN1 pic.twitter.com/C2krumDEwz
However, total pay (including bonuses) only rose by 3.1%, down from 3.2%. John Hawksworth, chief economist at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: “The rate of increase in the latest three months was slower than in most previous quarters, which may be a sign that Brexit-related uncertainty is beginning to make companies more cautious about new hiring.”
The ONS says: John Philpott of the Jobs Economist consultancy said the rise in employment masked a drop of 38,000 in the number of workers employed by a company, with self-employed people accounting for the entire net rise. “A closer look at the figures offers a slightly different story,” he said.
In the private sector, total pay increased by 3.2% on the year to reach £531 in April. In the public sector, it grew by 3% on the year to reach £542 in April. Britain’s economy has continued to generate new jobs, sending the employment rate to record levels. Unemployment has also fallen, dropping by 34,000 to 1.3 million in the three months to April. The jobless rate remained at its lowest level since the mid 1970s, at 3.8%.
In April 2019, total pay growth tapered off because smaller bonuses were paid in that month than a year ago, and there was reduced growth in private sector total pay, especially in the wholesaling, retailing, hotels and restaurants and the manufacturing sectors. But, some economists believe that businesses have continued to hire workers to meet demand rather than invest for the long term in productivity-boosting technology amid the uncertainty over Britain leaving the EU.
The data on regular pay (which excludes bonus payments) show that for the whole economy, regular pay increased by 3.4% on the year to reach £502 in April 2019. Private sector regular pay increased by 3.5% on the year to reach £493 in April, while public sector total pay increased by 2.8% on the year to reach £541 In a potential sign that the country’s jobs boom could be running out of steam, the ONS said the number of job vacancies in Britain dropped to 837,000, falling from 861,000 at the start of the year.
Breaking: Britain’s economy has kept creating jobs, in the face of Brexit uncertainty and trade war jitters. Here’s the full story:
The Office for National Statistics reports that the number of people in employment in the UK increased by 32,000 to a record high of 32.75 million, in the three months to April. UK jobs growth slows amid Brexit uncertainty
That’s a slowdown compared to the previous quarter, in which 99,000 new jobs were created. Bad news! Carbon emissions from the global energy industry rose by the fastest rate in almost a decade last year.
Unemployment kept falling too -- down 34,000 in the last quarter to 1.3 million. The increase, which risks worsening climate change, was ironically driven by more volatile weather patterns. Surprise swings in global temperatures created more days that were either unusually hot (driving demand for air conditioning) or cold (boosting heating).
It means the UK unemployment remains at its lowest level in around 44 years, at 3.8%. My colleague Jillian Ambrose has the details:
The unemployment rate for women fell to a joint-record low of 3.7%, with the number of economically inactive women reduced to a record low of 5.2 million. Carbon emissions climbed by 2% last year, faster than any year since 2011, because the demand for energy easily oustripped the rapid rollout of renewable energy.
For February to April 2019, 76.1% of people aged 16 to 64 were in paid work – the joint-highest employment rate on record https://t.co/C7Xme4NjP7 pic.twitter.com/G7uMRFyImK Two-thirds of the world’s energy demand increase was due to higher demand in China, India and the US which was in part due to stronger industry as well as the “weather effect”.
.@ONS confirm that the unemployment rate remains low at 3.8% and has not been lower since the 1970s #StrongerEconomy pic.twitter.com/CFjJDtndRK This was spurred by an “outsized” energy appetite in the US which recorded the highest number of days with hotter or colder than average days since the 1950s.
More to follow.... Here’s the full story:
Paul Donovan of UBS Wealth Management points out that @realDonaldTrump has been more vocal about the trade war with China recently. Energy industry's carbon emissions rise at fastest rate in nearly a decade
However, Donovan also suspects Trump may resist imposing new tariffs as the re-election race hots up, telling clients: Back in parliament, Bank of England deputy governor Ben Broadbent also had his reappointment hearing today, following up on Michael Saunders’ appearance in front of the Treasury select committee this morning.
US President Trump suggested the threat of trade taxes against goods that have spent any time in Mexico may be revisited in ninety days. This is unlikely to affect markets in the near term (the closer we get to the US presidential election, the less credible threats of tax hikes become). It does reinforce the idea of a risk premium for investing in supply chains involving the US. Broadbent, who is one of the frontrunners to succeed governor Mark Carney next year, was tight lipped about whether he had applied for the job.
US President Trump also suggested that there would be more trade taxes if Chinese President Xi failed to meet with Trump at the G20. The Trump Twitter Feed has become more aggressive in suggesting tax increases after the end of June. However, he said the Bank’s next leader should follow in Carney’s footsteps by continuing to modernise the 300-year-old institution (while of course fulfilling its remit for financial and price stability.) Gender and ethnic diversity also seemed to be on the agenda.
Shares in Ted Baker, the UK fashion chain, have slumped by a quarter this morning after it hit investors with another profits warning. The deputy was immediately peppered with questions over the suspension of Neil Woodford’s investment fund, but Broadbent said he doesn’t think the episode had spilled over to other funds or financial markets “so far as we can tell.”
The group slashed its earnings outlook again, warning that trading conditions have deteriorated. Neil Woodford refuses to waive fees despite pressure from MPs and FCA
“Ongoing consumer uncertainty in a number of key markets and elevated levels of promotional activity across our global markets have resulted in extremely difficult trading conditions during the financial year to date. He said there will be episodes where investment fund suspensions “is the right thing to do”.
I imagine the ‘forced hugging’ row which prompted founder Ray Kelvin to quit earlier this year won’t have helped the firm either.. He told MPS:
Ted Baker warns on profits amid 'extremely difficult' conditions “The real financial stability risk in some ways will come from funds having to liquidate assets very quickly at values that are well below their market price, and that’s precisely what suspensions are designed to prevent.
Investors don’t seem too worried about the threat of a recession. Broadbent said there may be questions over whether investors are sufficiently aware of the risks involved in investing in open-ended funds like Woodford. He also addressed the manager’s listing of private holdings on the Guernsey stock exchange to get around EU rules that cap unlisted investments at 10%. “There were no rules broken as far as I understand it,” Broadbent said.
European markets have opened higher, on the back of strong gains in Asia overnight. This has sent Britain’s Footsie index to a new five-week high, clawing back May’s losses. But the Bank’s deputy governor ultimately came to the defence of City regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, which he said could not be expected to safeguard customers to the point where they faced little to no risk.
FTSE 100: up 31 points or 0.4% to 7,406 You cannot have a system where collectively could reduce all risk to zero. I don’t think that’s possible and I don’t think that’s desirable. There is risk in these funds, there is risk in risky assets.”
German DAX: up 123 points or 1% at 12,168 Meanwhile in America, Donald Trump has launched a not-very-presidential attack on the US central bank.
French CAC: up 17 points or 0.3% at 5,400 Trump has claimed that the Federal Reserve ‘don’t have a clue’, and should cut interest rates to help weaken the US dollar.
Connor Campbell of SpreadEx says: The United States has VERY LOW INFLATION, a beautiful thing!
Closing their ears to more Trump trade chatter, the markets continued their June jump, if with slightly less spring in their step. This is because the Euro and other currencies are devalued against the dollar, putting the U.S. at a big disadvantage. The Fed Interest rate way too high, added to ridiculous quantitative tightening! They don’t have a clue! https://t.co/0CpnUzJqB9
China’s Shanghai market also had a good day; the CSI300 index has jumped 3%, or over 108 points, to 3,719 points. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index has gained 1.6%. I think Trump is responding to new producer price inflation data (PPI), which show that the cost of US goods and services rose by 1.8% per year in May, down from April’s 2.2%.
Why aren’t investors panicking about the prospect of a deeper US-China trade war? One theory is that they suspect a deal will be struck at the G20 summit -- and that Trump’s threat of fresh tariffs if Xi doesn’t play ball will let him declare victory once the agreement’s been signed. However core PPI increased 2.3% in the 12 months through May after rising 2.2% in April -- partly due to a surge in the cost of hotel accommodation.
Negotiation tactics? President trump threatens to raise tariffs on Chinese imports again if president Xi Jinping does not meet with him at G20 summit at month end Trump has also defended his trade policies, in a tweet seemingly directed towards Fox News presenters:
Donald Trump taste for trade conflict could even extend to French wine. Maria, Dagan, Steve, Stuart V - When you are the big “piggy bank” that other countries have been ripping off for years (to a level that is not to be believed), Tariffs are a great negotiating tool, a great revenue producers and, most importantly, a powerful way to get......
The president has claimed that America’s wine industry is being treated unfairly, because French wine incurs a low tariff when imported into the US. ...Companies to come to the U.S.A and to get companies that have left us for other lands to come back home. We stupidly lost 30% of our auto business to Mexico. If the Tariffs went on at the higher level, they would all come back, and pass. But very happy with the deal I made,...
The Hill has the details: ....If Mexico produces (which I think they will). Biggest part of deal with Mexico has not yet been revealed! China is similar, except they devalue currency and subsidize companies to lessen effect of 25% Tariff. So far, little effect to consumer. Companies will relocate to U.S.
“You know, France charges us a lot for the wine and yet we charge them little for French wine,” Trump said. Some 18,000 jobs are in doubt today at Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia empire.
The president claimed that winemakers in California complained to him that French wine can be imported at little cost, but that they have to pay high duties to export their products into France. Tomorrow Arcadia will ask its landlords to vote on a rescue plan that will cut rents and allow some stores to close. The vote was dramatically stopped at the last minute a week ago, after it became clear that Green didn’t have enough support.
“And you know what, it’s not fair,” Trump said. “We’ll do something about it.” He’s now offered a more generous deal -- but at least one landlord isn’t impressed. INTU, which owns 35 Arcadia stores, is likely to vote against the CVA tomorrow, sources say.
Wine tariffs are set across the EU, so any clampdown on claret, champagne, and côtes du Rhône would also affect gewurztraminer, riesling, rioja etc from other member states. Arcadia on the brink after Intu rejects revised CVA plan
According to America’s Wine Institute, EU tariffs range from 11 cents to 29 cents per bottle, while the US charges just 5 cents for a standard 750ml bottle from Europe, or 14 cents for fizz. Green has claimed that Arcadia, which includes Top Shop and Miss Selfridge, could fall into administration if the deal isn’t approved.....
Trump, of course, is a teetotal, so wouldn’t suffer from a wine war. Public sector pay rose faster than wages at private companies last month - for the first time in around five years!
Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese goods is worrying US businesses. Total average earnings across the public sector rose by 4.2% year-on-year in April alone, the ONS reports, outpacing the 3.7% growth in private sector pay during the month.
Gary Shapiro from the Consumer Technology Association fears they could drive the US economy into a “Trump recession”. The tight grip of austerity may finally be easing, as the government starts to relax its pay cap on public sector pay -- just as Brexit uncertainty hits companies.
He told CNBC that tariffs aren’t working as well as the president claims: The ONS explains:
“They are taxes, they hurt consumers, they hurt American companies.” Total pay growth tapered off because smaller bonuses were paid in that month than a year ago, and there was reduced growth in private sector total pay, especially in the wholesaling, retailing, hotels and restaurants and the manufacturing sectors.
More China tariffs could push the US into a 'Trump recession,' CEO says https://t.co/YBEWU5UHHN Arno Hantzsche, senior economist at the NIESR thinktank, adds:
Last month, America hiked the tariff on thousands of Chinese products from 10% to 25%. It’s due to kick in next weekend, making food, machinery, consumer goods, and chemicals more expensive to import. “A boost to wage growth in April came from the public sector where earnings picked up after a decade of pay restraint.
That still leaves around half China’s sales to the US, worth around $300bn, in the firing line for Trump tariffs. It offset some of the emerging weaknesses in the private sector where pay growth is stabilising as a result of Brexit and global uncertainties.”
Many economists fear that the US economy has slowed in recent months, partly due to trade conflicts. Stronger than expected #PublicSector #wage growth after a decade of restraint offsets some of the emerging weaknesses in the #PrivateSector - Our full analysis is out now - Read it here:https://t.co/MDCV64wFr8#NIESRwage
Last Friday’s weak jobs report, showing American firms only hired 75,000 new staff last week, has added to these worries. Fascinating difference in LR employment trends for men and women @ONS today reports female employment rate at all time high of 72%. Chart below shows how its risen from 52% 50 years ago, while men's employment rate has dropped from 92% to 80% over same time pic.twitter.com/PbbskZy8CT
The U.S. added 75,000 workers to nonfarm payrolls in May for a total of 151.1 million jobs. Results for prior two months were revised lower by a net of 75,000 https://t.co/6H24rv4E6Y pic.twitter.com/cYP5cfsIcn Looking back at the unemployment report, it’s clear that changes to the pension age mean more women are working longer.
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. The number of women in work jumped by 60,000 in the February-April quarter to a record high of 15.46m women.
Donald Trump once boasted of being a ‘Tariff Man’, and sometimes it feels like the US president enjoys talking about little else. It’s a different story for men, though; the number of employed men fell by 27,000 on the quarter to 17.29m.
Just days after lifting the threat of a trade war with Mexico, Trump has floated the prospect of a deeper conflict with China. More women are in work because the female state pension age has been raised from 60 to 65, and will soon rise again to 66. This eliminates the gender pension gap, but has also sparked a legal protest from women who say they weren’t given sufficient warning.
In a piece of tub-thumping drama, the president declared overnight that he’d impose new tariffs on Chinese exports “immediately” if its leader, Xi Jinping, doesn’t meet him at the G20 summit later this month. Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, says these older workers are driving the so-called UK jobs ‘miracle’:
He told reporters that America could impose tariffs of 25%, or even higher, on the $300bn of Chinese goods that haven’t yet been caught up in the trade war. Such a move would be a major escalation in a conflict that has already dented trade and weighed on global growth. “The number of workers aged 50 or older rose by a staggering 305,000 in the most recent jobs figures, representing the lion’s share of the total 357,000 increase.
But Trump isn’t backing down, telling CNBC that his trade war policy is getting results. “In fact, the number of workers under age 24 dropped by 43,000 during the year while those aged 65 or older rose by 80,000.
“The China deal is going to work out. You know why? Because of tariffs. “This will at least in part reflect state pension age increases, with women seeing their state pension age rise to 65 during 2018.
Right now, China is getting absolutely decimated by companies that are leaving China, going to other countries, including our own, because they don’t want to pay the tariffs.” Over in Parliament, MPs have been grilling Bank of England policymakers.
[Fact check: American importers, not Chinese exporters, pay these tariffs.....] First up was Michael Saunders who was pushed for views on the US-China trade war, his consumer spending forecasts and, of course, Brexit.
pic.twitter.com/TwLPmiAB78 The external member of the rate-setting monetary policy committee made waves even before he spoke. In written testimony to the Treasury Select Committee, Saunders warned:
Trump’s comments put Beijing in rather a fix. “A no-deal Brexit would probably have a significant adverse effect on the UK’s long term growth prospects, because of reduced openness to international trade in both goods and services,and the resultant deterioration in the attractiveness of the UK as a global business location.”
President Xi Jinping can hardly be seen kowtowing to the White House, so may resist committing to a meeting at the G20. But without formal talks at the G20, how will the trade war be resolved? This may take some diplomatic skills. Saunders, who is being reappointed to the Bank’s MPC, is at least optimistic on consumer spending, which he chalks up to jobs and pay “doing better than many people had expected.’’
President Trump saying he would expand the tariffs list against China (an estimated $300 billion more) if President Xi doesn't show up at the G20 meeting can be taken as a 'show up or else' diplomatic demand. China has not historically responded well to such ultimatums It’s worth noting that his forecast of a continued rise in spending is contingent on a “smooth Brexit.”
Also coming up today On the global front, Saunders says the US-China trade war has dented global growth, which in turn has impacted the UK economy. However, he said central banks including the Bank of England still have the tools to respond.
New UK unemployment data is due this morning, which may show that the long run of rising employment levels has faded. “In terms of monetary policy fire power... if it was right to loosen policy, we could cut interest rates close to zero - we wouldn’t go to negative rates - but we still have the option of expanding QE further.
Economists also predict that earnings growth slowed - basic pay, excluding bonuses, may have risen by 3.1% in the year to April, down from 3.3% a month ago. Now we’ve done substantial amount, but in theory we could expand it significantly further.”
This would be another sign that the British economy is stumbling in the face of economic uncertainty at home and abroad; just yesterday, we learned that the UK economy shrank by an alarming 0.4% in April. Economist Rupert Seggins has pulled together a neat thread on today’s unemployment report:
UK economy shrinks after Brexit car factory shutdowns 1. Thread summarising some highlights from today's UK labour market stats. Headlines: unemployment at 3.8% (lowest since Dec-1974), employment at 76.1% (joint highest on record) & real pay (using CPI) 1.4%y/y ex. bonuses & 1.2%y/y total - the latter slipping from 1.4%y/y. pic.twitter.com/JohYzqK1ZL
Michael Hewson of CMC Markets sets the scene: 2. Numbers of people not in work and not looking for work (termed: "inactive") down by 87k y/y. This is mainly down to fewer students (-65k), with some drop in numbers of retired people (-20k). pic.twitter.com/zreMNtjpTi
Having seen manufacturing activity fall sharply in April there is a concern that wage growth could start to go the same way as the economy slows. 3. Latest stats showed employment growth slowing a bit in quarterly terms from 107k people q/q to 18k people. As @julianHjessop points out, there are some other potential signs of cooling in the UK labour market. https://t.co/pW5oPBinkp
Having come in at 3.3% for the last three months there is a sense we could start to slip back, with expectations of a softening to 3.1%, for the three months to April. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 3.8%. 4. This tweet from @AlpeshPaleja shows that the slowdown in employment growth appears to be largely down to the youngest age bracket. https://t.co/bABsDHV9K4
Two of the Bank of England’s top policymakers - deputy governor Ben Broadbent and MPC member Michael Saunders - may give their view on the UK economy today. They’re appearing at parliament for re-appointment hearings to the BoE. 5. "The trend is your friend" - a point from @PawelAdrjan highlighting that we have seen employment grwoth slowdowns (and indeed some falls), which have not derailed the overall trend since 2012. https://t.co/Bm0xX5ALFa
The agenda 6. With wage growth in cash tems picking up, there might be some increased "rate hike" talk at the Banks of England, as @samueltombs highlights. https://t.co/Gbgi0P5Qcg
9.30am BST: UK unemployment and earnings report 7. But in real terms, your story on pay growth will crucially depend on which measure of price inflation you favour, as @notayesmansecon highlights here. https://t.co/zeRz3T597J
10am BST: Eurozone sentix investor confidence survey 8. Also definitely worth checking out this article from @ONSRichardClegg which busts some popular myths about the UK labour market stats. https://t.co/wftAtl34Z7
10am BST: BoE policymakers Michael Saunders and Ben Broadbent at the Treasury Committee in parliament Mike Amesbury MP, Labour’s shadow employment minister, is concerned that many of Britain’s poorest-paid workers are still struggling to cope.
Here’s his take on today’s unemployment data:
“Behind these statistics, the simple truth is that many people are trapped in low paid, insecure work – and they are often left struggling to meet basic household costs.
“In-work poverty has increased faster than employment, and 70% of children growing up in poverty live in a family where someone is in work. That is totally unacceptable.
“Labour will invest in training and the economy throughout the UK, so we can create decent, skilled jobs that last and lift people out of poverty.”
Last week, the ONS reported that 17% of the U.K. population was in poverty in 2017, up from 15.9% in 2016, and above the EU average (this is defined a households with disposable incomes below 60% of the national median).
The TUC is concerned that wages aren’t rising faster -- and argue that the minimum wage should be increased further (on top of this year’s rise).
General secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“Wage growth is still stuck in the slow lane. Real pay is still lower than it was before the 2008 crisis and this rate of growth won’t restore decent living standards.
“We need to speed things up. The government must raise the minimum wage to £10 as quickly as possible and take action to strengthen the economy, including by embedding real pay rises across the whole of the public sector.
“And unions should have the freedom to enter every workplace to negotiate fair pay rises.”
In April alone, UK basic pay jumped by 3.8% per year.
That’s a welcome boost for workers, meaning wages grew much faster than inflation (which was 2.1% in April)
This is partly because the minimum wage rose at the start of April, by 4.9% to £7.83 an hour for those aged 25 and over.
That helped lift wages for the lowest-paying staff, helping to push total basic pay growth up to 3.4% from 3.3% (as flagged earlier).
Alastair Neame, senior economist at the CEBR thinktank, says around two million people will have benefitted, or around 7% of the workforce.
Although the change affects a large number of people, their pay is by definition relatively low, meaning there may be little impact on the headline measure of average weekly earnings. But for the affected households and their employers the impact is potentially significant.
Employers now face the prospect of paying higher wages from their margins or cutting their headcount and critics of minimum wages worry that higher unemployment will result from an artificially high wage floor.
Even though basic pay rose last month (to 3.4% per year), workers are still poor than before the 2008 financial crisis.
The Resolution Foundation have crunched the numbers, and shows that average pay is still a little below its peak 11 years ago (once you adjust for the rising cost of living).
Real pay may not recover all the last ground until next year.
Based on the current pace of wage growth, real wages will return to pre-crisis levels in early 2020 pic.twitter.com/1SXLvyjn0S
Real pay growth varies significantly by sector. Agricultural workers have experienced the sharpest real pay growth at 3.4%, while real wages are falling in arts, entertainment and recreation pic.twitter.com/cv9ANlBpqa
Employment Minister Alok Sharma has welcomed today’s unemployment report, saying:
“Once again we see more people in work than ever before; 3.7 million more since 2010. A testament to the Government’s support for employers and jobseekers on a day where we also mark that 2 million claimants are now being supported through Universal Credit.
“With wage growth increasing pace on last month, outstripping inflation for the 15th month in a row, and record high female employment – the Government’s focus on pro-business policies and balanced economic management is delivering opportunity for all.”
Another very good set of #employment figures:👷🏻‍♂️More people in #work than ever before📈Joint highest ever employment rate 👩🏽 Record high rate of #female employment 💷 #Wages growing faster than inflation for the 15th month in a row@conservatives delivering for #Britain !
Economists are broadly in agreement that Britain’s jobs market looks solid.
Here’s the ONS’s chief economist, Grant Fitzner:
The best thing about the strong UK labour market? The lowest #unemployment rate in 44 years #statistics #UK https://t.co/S4gxrwrOKh
Stephen Clarke of the Resolution Foundation thinktank points out that wages have been steadily outpacing inflation for some time now:
Employment has also remains at a record high of 76.1%, unemployment 40 year low of 3.8%. Labour market shrugging off any Brexit uncertainty
However, Howard Archer of EY Item Club is concerned that employment growth has slowed:
#UK #labour market strength showing some signs of fraying: employment up reduced 33k in 3 months to April, lowest gain since last August although at new record of 32.746 million. Unemployment down 35k; jobless rate stable at 3.8%. Annual earnings growth 3.1% in 3 months to Apr
Tej Parikh, chief economist at the Institute of Directors, warns that job creation may be softening:
“The buoyant labour market is still going strong for the UK economy, even as it weathers widespread political uncertainty.
“Businesses’ avid appetite for new hires has drawn many out of unemployment and inactivity into work, which has provided uplift to household incomes. With vacancies outpacing the number of people available to fill them, competition has pushed up wages in new positions, giving a boost to job switchers and starters.
“However, the employment boom cannot last forever, and is certainly showing signs of softening. Business leaders are finding it harder to recruit as the supply of talent shrinks, and wage growth has failed to sustain the heights we saw earlier this year. To build on the existing strengths of the jobs market, the Government will need to step up on its training agenda in order to support businesses to overcome skills shortages and drive up productivity and pay packets.”
The number of vacancies in the UK economy has fallen - perhaps a sign that employment growth is weakening.
There were 837,000 unfilled positions in the three months to May - down from 861,000 at the start of this year.