UK unemployment has dropped to pre-pandemic levels, but wages are unable to match the surging inflation.
- There was both an increase in employment and a decrease in unemployment in the three months to the end of January 2022.
- The headline unemployment rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9% than the prior three-month period, returning to its pre-pandemic levels.
- The employment rate was 75.6%, increasing 0.1 percentage points than the prior three-month period, but 1.0 percentage points lower than the three months to February 2020.
- Meanwhile, growth in regular pay, excluding bonuses, was 3.8% in the three months to January 2022, or 4.8%, including bonuses.
Growth in total pay was 0.1% as regular pay dropped 1.0$ on the year. Strong bonus payments over the last six months have held recent real total payment growth positive.
FTSE 100 down -0.69%, GBP USD up +0.52%
Source: Office for National Statistics
