by Harry Robertson
LONDON (Reuters) – British wage growth slowed in the three months to November, encouraging economists to position for rate cuts this year.
Annual wage growth, excluding bonuses, reached 6.6% between September and November, compared to 7.2% in the three months preceding October.
Including bonuses, wage growth slowed to 6.5%, compared to 7.2% in the three months to October, and compared to a consensus of 6.8%.
The number of job vacancies fell by 49,000 in the fourth quarter, while the unemployment rate remained stable at 4.2% in November, according to the Office for National Statistics.
“These figures indicating a gradual normalization of the labor market will reinforce the idea that rate cuts could take place as early as May,” according to Jake Finney, economist at PwC UK.
“This further significant drop in wage growth in November encourages us to believe that domestic inflationary pressures are fading quickly,” explains Ashley Webb, economist for the consultancy Capital Economics.
“But tensions in labor markets will likely push the Bank of England to remain restrictive at its next monetary policy meeting in February.”
The pound sterling weakened against the dollar and fell 0.57% to 1.2652 dollars at 09:36 GMT.
(Report by Harry Robertson, by Corentin Chappron, edited by Tangi Salaün)
Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
