UK wage growth accelerates to 5.2%

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UK wage growth accelerated in the three months to October as companies kept their staffing steady in the run-up to the Budget, official data showed on Tuesday.

The Office for National Statistics said growth in average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, accelerated to 5.2 per cent, up from 4.9 per cent a month earlier, and above analysts’ expectations of 5 per cent.

The ONS said the increase was driven by private sector wage growth. Meanwhile the number of payrolled employees grew by 0.1 per cent between September and October, taking the overall change over the three month period to a dip of 0.1 per cent.

The annual growth rate in payroll employment continued to slow, the ONS said, and early data for November suggested employers had cut staffing in the aftermath of the Budget — but these figures are likely to be subject to revision.

This is a developing story