UK annual wage growth slows to 6.5% as vacancies continue falling

Labour market overview

Annual growth in employees’ average total earnings, including bonuses, fell to 6.5% between September and November 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In its labour market overview, the agency found that annual growth in real terms, adjusted for inflation, was 1.3% over the three-month period. Demand for UK labour hits lowest level in a decade Similarly, the estimated number of vacancies in the last quarter of 2023 continued to fall to 934,000 - a 49,000 reduction - marking Q4 2023 as the 18th consecutive quarter of vacancy falls, and the longest consecutive run of quarterly falls ever recorded. However, the ONS noted the figures were still above pre-pandemic levels. The UK employment rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to...