The number of employees on payrolls in the UK rose to its pre-pandemic level last month, and pay growth hit a record high.
- The average weekly earnings in the three months to the end of June increased by 8.8% compared with a year earlier but skewed upwards by the effects of the pandemic.
- The average weekly earnings data for the May-July period are utilized in the triple lock process for determining the increase in the value of the state pension.
- The underlying total pay in the UK could be increasing at between 4.9% and 6.3% a year. Pay growth might lose momentum after the end of the furlough scheme.
Vacancies in the three months to July rose to a record high of 953,000, 168,000 higher than the pre-pandemic level. Many UK employers are struggling to find staff as the economy recovers from the lockdowns.
FTSE 250 Index down -0.021%, EUR USD down -0.06%Source: Office for National Statistics
