UK employers offer lowest pay awards since Dec 2018: XpertHR
[LONDON] British employers offered staff the lowest annual pay awards in more than a year during the three months to January, adding to signs that a slower economy may be hurting wages even as unemployment holds at its lowest since 1975.
The median annual pay rise offered to staff in the three months to January fell to 2.1 per cent from 2.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2019, its lowest since the last three months of 2018, human resources data provider XpertHR said.
"With January generally setting the tone for much of the rest of the year, we now expect employers to continue to exercise caution when making their pay awards, and for low pay awards to prevail over the coming months," XpertHR analyst Sheila Attwood said.
Pay settlements from large employers sometimes show where official wage data is headed, though the former typically grow more slowly as they do not include pay rises from promotions and job changes.
Britain's official rate of wage growth peaked at 4.0 per cent in the three months to June 2019, but slowed to 2.9 per cent in the final quarter of last year.
Job creation was strong over the period, but the economy as a whole stagnated.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
International
UK consumer confidence improves as inflation and taxes fall
Inflation in Japan’s capital falls below BOJ target, slows for second month
Chinese firms are investing abroad at fastest pace in eight years
Sri Lanka’s economy expected to grow 3% in 2024, central bank says
Yellen says US can bring inflation down without hurting jobs
US dollar briefly falls versus yen after GDP data