**MNI 5 Things: UK Nominal Wage Growth Hits 2-Year High

By Jamie Satchithanantham and Laurie Laird

     **LONDON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the ONS' labour

market data published Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics.

     - Nominal wages rose by 2.8% 3m y/y in January, the fastest pace since the

3m to September 2015, fulfilling the view of the Bank of England that wage

pressures are set to rise. Analysis by MNI had placed wage growth to stand

around the 3% in the coming months and data from Dec and Jan have laid the

foundations.

     - Private sector wage growth hit 3.0%, its fastest pace since 2016 but pay

growth in financial services decelerated to 3.2%, the slowest growth since the

3m to August.

     - Flat on the month, real total wages ended a 9-month run of decline and

could extend this upward trend with inflation falling to 2.7% in February. That

could lead to deliberations amongst MPC members about the influence of

domestically generated inflation.

     - Employment rose by a much-higher-than-expected 168,000 in the 3m to

January, pushing the jobless rate back down to a 42-year low of 4.3%. While the

number of those who found work rose, so did the number who became jobless. The

unemployment count picked up by 24,000 in the 3m to January.

     - The number of workers classified as inactive fell 136,000 on the quarter,

enough to take the inactivity rate to a joint-record-low 21.2%. The bulk of

those becoming becoming 'active' were classified as 'other'. Under this category

survey respondents are not obliged to provide exact details of their working

arrangements.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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