MNI 5 Things: UK Wage Growth Stagnates Despite Strong Jobs>

By Shaily Mittal, Laurie Laird and David Robinson

     LONDON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the UK labour 

market data published Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. 

     - UK wage growth stagnated in the three months to February, with 

nominal total pay rising by 3.5%, matching the previous outturn.  

Regular pay, excluding bonuses decelerated, rising by just 3.4%, down 

from 3.5% in the three months to January. 

     - However real total wages increased, as predicted by the Bank of 

England in minutes of its February meeting, as inflation declined from 

an above-target pace at the end of 2018, falling to an annual rate of 

1.9% in February. 

     - Wages stagnated or fell in every major industry grouping, with 

the exception of manufacturing, where pay growth has lagged.  Factory 

wages grew by an annual rate of 1.9% in the three months to February, up 

from a 1.8% pace in the previous three months, but well below other 

industries.  

     - Sluggish wage growth comes despite sustained robust employment 

growth. Britain added another 179,000 jobs in the three months to 

February, after a gain of 222,000 in the three months to January. 

Employment has not declined since the three months to October of 2017. 

     - The resilience of the jobs market, despite evidence of an 

economic slowdown, raises further questions about Britain's depressed 

productivity growth.  The latest data support suspicions that Brexit 

uncertainty has spurred a continued spending on labour, rather 

than capital outlays on productivity-enchancing investment. 

-London bureau: 44 (0) 203 865 3812; email: ukeditorial@marketnews.com 

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