Britain’s unemployment level has risen slightly amid record pay growth, official figures show.
The Office for National Statistics said unemployment rose to 4.2 per cent in the three months to June, up from 3.9 per cent in the previous three-month period.
It is the highest since the three months to October 2021, the ONS said, and brings the measure above pre-pandemic levels.
ONS statisticians said regular pay, which excludes bonuses, reached 7.8 per cent compared to a year earlier.
“This is the highest regular annual growth rate we have seen since comparable records began in 2001,” they said.
In real terms, regular pay rose 0.1 per cent for the year when adjusting for Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) inflation.
It is the first time since October 2021 that real wages have increased, the ONS added.
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