Wage growth slumps to its lowest for 2 years despite record employment
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Wage growth has slumped to its lowest rate for two years despite record employment figures out today.
Weekly pay excluding bonuses grew by 2.6% between September and December 2016 compared to a year earlier.
But "real" growth once inflation is counted for was just 1.4%, the lowest rate since February 2015.
It means despite average earnings of £507 a week, real pay has risen just 13% in the last 17 years.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: "This will be worrying for families whose have still not seen their living standards recover following the financial crisis."
(Photo: Daily Mirror)
Laura Gardiner of the Resolution Foundation think tank added: “Encouraging news on jobs isn’t feeding through into earnings, which have shown no sign of responding to fast-rising inflation.
"Unless this changes Britain is set for a fresh pay squeeze later this year."
Today's figures showed unemployment is the lowest since 2006 at 4.8%, one of the lowest rates in Europe.
But unemployment actually rose by more than 10,000 in each of the West Midlands and North East.
The ONS also said record employment among women - which reached 70% for the first time - was partly due to pension age rises forcing them to work longer.
It also said the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits - down to 745,000 - was likely to be volatile because all-in-one system Universal Credit is still being rolled out.
Public sector workers are now just 17.1% of the UK workforce compared to 21.1% in 2011 after sweeping austerity.
The figures also show the number of EU nationals working in Britain fell between September and December for the first time in more than two years.
The figures emerged after police forces confirmed a surge in reported hate crime after the EU referendum last June.
But the total of 2.24million was still far higher than a year earlier (2.05m), the ONS said, and the statistics authority made no mention of Brexit .
And overall the number of non-UK nationals working in this country increased by 233,000 to 3.48million between October to December 2015 and the same quarter last year.
Non-UK nationals now make up 10.9% of the workforce, up from 3.8% in 1997.
Across Britain, more than 31.8 million adults are in a job.
Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green claimed the figures show Brits "remain in a position of strength."
He added: "Our ongoing welfare reforms will continue to incentivise work and make sure the system is fair to all those who need it and those who pay for it.
"With youth unemployment down, women in work at record levels and number of disabled people in work increasing too, we're delivering on our pledge to build a country that works for everyone."
Unemployment rate in your region
(Photo: Getty)
Region / Unemployed people Sept-Dec 2016 (change on June-Aug 2016) / New unemployment in %
North East 90,000 (+11,000) 7.0%
North West 180,000 (-7,000) 5.0%
Yorkshire and The Humber 137,000 (-14,000) 5.0%
East Midlands 114,000 (+6,000) 4.7%
West Midlands 168,000 (+17,000) 5.9%
East of England 140,000 (+5,000) 4.4%
London 260,000 (-6,000) 5.5%
South East 157,000 (-12,000) 3.4%
South West 101,000 (-8,000) 3.6%
Wales 67,000 (-1,000) 4.4%
Scotland 135,000 (+6,000) 4.9%
Northern Ireland 48,000 (-3,000) 5.3%