Wage growth in Britain accelerates even as jobless rate rises

London

UK wage growth accelerated to the fastest pace in more than five years while the jobless rate rose, creating a mixed picture for policymakers assessing the timing for the first interest rate increase. The pound fell.

Total pay increased an annual 3.2 per cent in the three months till May, the fastest since early 2010, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday in London. It is still less than the 3.3 per cent pace forecast by economists. In addition, the ONS said that the unemployment rate rose to 5.6 per cent, the first increase since the fourth quarter of 2013.