Tue, 20 Jan 2026

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 Wage growth slows as number of people employed falls

Official figures show that the pace of private sector wage growth slowed to the lowest rate in five years.

* Wage growth in the UK slowed to 4.5% between September and November.
* Private sector pay increases slowed to a five-year low, while public sector wages rose due to earlier pay awards.
* Average wages excluding bonuses fell from 4.6% rise recorded between August and October.
* The number of people on company payrolls continued to fall by 135,000 in the three months to November.
* Unemployment rate remained at 5.1%, the highest since early 2021.
* Public sector wage growth was 7.9%, compared to 3.6% for the private sector.
* Economists expect the Bank of England to hold borrowing costs in February when the rate-setting committee meets for the first time this year.
* Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, predicted that overall unemployment rate could increase in the coming months due to weak hiring activity and higher employment costs.
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