Wage growth gains pace yet jobless rate ticks up
THE UNEMPLOYMENT rate edged up slightly in the final three months of last year, yet official figures released yesterday painted a positive picture for the labour market including signs of a pick-up in wage growth.
Total pay in the October-December period was up 1.1 per cent compared to a year earlier. Yet the figure for the final month of the year alone was 1.5 per cent growth, suggesting that a turnaround could be underway.
With inflation dipping below two per cent, some economists believe it is not long until wage growth outstrips the cost of living.
Henderson’s Simon Ward went further, calculating that a measure of private sector pay, including a 12-month moving average of bonuses, was up by 2.1 per cent in December.
However, the unemployment rate ticked up from 7.1 per cent to 7.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2013, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said yesterday – even though joblessness was down 125,000 compared to the third quarter.
Meanwhile youth unemployment fell 48,000 to 917,000 in the final quarter – the lowest level since early 2011. The number includes full-time students looking for work. Excluding students, there were 637,000 unemployed 16 to 24 year olds during the October to December 2013 period.
The number of people in employment, aged 16 to 64, continues to rise. There were 30.15m employed people in the final three months of 2013, up 193,000 from the previous quarter. Actual hours worked rose 4m in the quarter to 966.8m hours.