UK labour market sees cooling trend in April

The UK’s labour market displayed further signs of cooling in April, despite witnessing another month of robust wage growth, Reuters reported, citing official data released on Tuesday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the unemployment rate for the three months to April climbed to 4.4 per cent from 4.3 per cent between January and March, marking the highest level since the three months to September 2021.

This rise contradicted expectations, as a Reuters poll of economists had anticipated an unchanged unemployment rate. The ONS noted that while the labour market appears to be cooling with a decline in vacancies and an increase in unemployment, earnings growth remains relatively strong.

Wages excluding bonuses grew by 6.0 per cent in the three months to the end of April compared to the same period a year earlier, slightly below economists’ forecast of 6.1 per cent.