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UK wage growth steadied in the three months to September as hiring stalled, according to official data that will reassure policymakers at the Bank of England that pressures in the jobs market are easing.
The Office for National Statistics said annual growth in average weekly earnings in the private sector was 4.8 per cent in the three months to September, unchanged from the three month period to August, and the lowest since the winter of 2021-2022. This was in line with the central bank’s latest expectations.
Public sector wage growth, excluding bonuses, has been boosted by pay deals reached over the summer and was 4.7 per cent in the three months to September, down from 5.2 per cent a month earlier.
Meanwhile, tax records showed the number of payrolled employees fell by 9,000 between August and September, with provisional figures for October pointing to a further decline of 5,000. This left employment up just 0.3 per cent on the year.
Sterling dropped following the release of the data, sliding 0.5 per cent to $1.28.
This is a developing story