UK labour market cools as growth slows, Brexit vote looms

London

THE UK jobs market showed signs of cooling in the first quarter as Britain prepares for an increasingly bitter referendum on its European Union membership.

The number of people in work rose by 44,000, less than a quarter of the gain seen at the end of 2015, the Office for National Statistics in London said on Wednesday. Unemployment fell 2,000, leaving the jobless rate at a decade-low 5.1 per cent, as forecast by economists. The employment rate edged up to 74.2 per cent.

There were also few signs of wage pressure. Annual pay growth excluding bonuses slowed to 2.1 per cent from 2.2 per cent in the three months through February. Total pay inflation edged up to 2 per cen…