The UK’s unemployment rate has risen, official figures suggest, while pay growth continues to slow.
The rate of unemployment stood at 4.3% in the three months to September, up from 4% the previous quarter.
However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) urged caution over giving too much weight to its latest jobs figures due to issues with how it gathers the data.
While wage growth has eased, pay is still rising faster than inflation, which measures the rate of price increases.
Excluding bonuses, pay grew at an annual rate of 4.8% between July and September – the lowest in more than two years.
The number of vacancies also fell again, as they have been doing for more than two years now.
The latest data also comes as businesses are set to be hit with a hike in National Insurance and increases in the minimum wage from April.
Some supermarkets and big retailers have recently suggested they might have to cut back on hiring or staff hours to manage increased costs under measures proposed in the Budget by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, pointed out that the total still remains a little above pre-pandemic levels.
She told the BBC’s Today programme that the latest figures suggested there was a “continued easing of the labour market”.
The ONS’s Labour Force Survey, which produces the data on jobs in the UK, has had a smaller number of respondents over the past year than normal, prompting concerns over its reliability.
The Bank of England watches the figures closely when making decisions on interest rates.
