According to the data, the average wage in the UK for three months excluding dividends increased 6.0% year on year in March, which is the same as the previous value and slightly higher than the 5.9% expected by the market.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Hunt said in a statement: “This is the tenth month in a row that wages are growing faster than inflation, which will help reduce the cost of living pressure on British households.”
Data released on Tuesday also showed that the average wage in the UK for three months including dividends increased 5.7% year-on-year in March, higher than the previous value of 5.6% and the 5.5% expected by the market. Fixed wages in the private sector — a key indicator the Bank of England is concerned about — declined slightly from 6.0% to 5.9% year over year in the three months ending February. Furthermore, the UK unemployment rate (according to ILO standards) rose to 4.3% in March, in line with market expectations and higher than the previous value of 4.2%.
Despite strong wage growth, unemployment figures seem to suggest that the UK labour market is cooling down. Liz McKeown, head of economic statistics at the UK Office for National Statistics, said: “We continue to see initial signs that the job market is cooling down. The number of employed and employed workers in our household surveys has declined in recent periods.”