Employment picture brighter with wage growth up and jobless queue shrinking
AVERAGE weekly wages excluding bonuses rose by an inflation-busting 2.2 per cent in March, official figures published this morning showed – a welcome relief for consumers.
Meanwhile, unemployment fell to another post-financial crisis low of 5.5 per cent – the best figure since July 2008. The number of vacancies rose to 733,000 between February and April, up 95,000 from the same period in 2014. The number of people classifying themselves as “unemployed” fell by 35,000
The figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) average weekly pay excluding bonuses was £460 during the month, while total pay, including bonuses, was £489 – 1.9 per cent higher. Meanwhile, inflation in March stuck at zero per cent.
James Knightley, an analyst at ING, pointed out that consumers should begin to feel less squeezed.
“Given inflation is at zero and that the tax free personal allowance has just been increased, households should be starting to sense that they have more money in their pockets. This should be good news for confidence.”
Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, warned the jobs market will be hampered by a skills shortage and would tighten.
“We expect the number of jobless to trend steadily downward over the coming months,” he said.