𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Wage growth has fallen to its lowest level for more than five years as the jobs market remained under pressure at the start of the year, official figures have shown.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said regular earnings growth fell back to 3.8% in the three months to January, down from 4.2% in the previous three months and marking the lowest level since November 2020.

The rate of unemployment remained at a near five-year high of 5.2% in the three months to January as the ONS also said vacancies dropped by 6,000 to 721,000 in the three months to February.

But most economists had expected the jobless rate to have risen to 5.3%, while there was also a 20,000 estimated increase in workers on payrolls last month.

Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “Labour market conditions were little changed at the start of the year.

“The number of workers on payroll rose slightly in the latest month but, overall, the recent picture has been broadly flat.”

She added: “Regular wage growth is at its lowest rate in more than five years, with pay growth in both the private and public sectors continuing to ease.”