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UK wage growth slowed at the end of 2025 as the jobless rate increased to 5.2 per cent, in the latest sign that the labour market was cooling.
Annual growth in average weekly wages, excluding bonuses, slowed to 4.2 per cent in the three months to December, according to the Office for National Statistics, down from a revised 4.4 per cent in the three months to November. Private sector wage growth eased to 3.4 per cent.
Data based on tax records showed the number of payrolled employees in the UK fell by 6,000 between November and December, leaving employment down by 121,000, or 0.4 per cent, over the past year. Provisional figures for January showed a month-on-month decline of 11,000, although these figures will probably be revised.
The Bank of England is watching the slowdown in the UK jobs market closely as it gauges when next to lower its interest rates.
While unemployment has risen sharply over the past year, the BoE has sought stronger evidence of a slowdown in wage growth and cooling inflation.
This is a developing story