The labor market continued to slow down, with official figures showing 9,000 fewer vacancies in the three months up to September. This marks the 39th consecutive period in which vacancy numbers have decreased, making it more challenging to find work.
There was an unexpected rise in the unemployment rate, increasing to 4.8% from the previous month’s 4.7%, mainly driven by younger individuals. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that a record number of people over the age of 65 are currently employed.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had not anticipated any change in the jobless rate. However, the ONS has cautioned against interpreting fluctuations in the monthly unemployment rate and job vacancy numbers due to concerns about the figures’ reliability.
Further evidence of a slowing labor market was evident in the decrease of annual private sector wage growth to its lowest rate in nearly four years at 4.4%. In contrast, public sector pay growth accelerated to 6%, as some public sector pay increases were granted earlier than in the previous year.
Average weekly earnings surpassed economists’ expectations, increasing by 5%, and were also higher than initially reported, following a revision of last month’s figures from 4.8% to 5%. Additionally, the ONS released data on industrial action, indicating that August experienced the fewest working days lost to strike action in a single month in nearly six years.
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