Wage growth in the UK cooled slightly over the summer, as unemployment ticked up slightly.
Annual growth in employees’ average earnings was 4.7% in the three months to August, down from 4.8% over the previous three months, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The national unemployment rate was 4.8% in August, a slight increase from 4.7% in July.
The ONS has said the unemployment figures should be treated with caution and it is taking additional steps to address concerns about the quality of the data.
Liz McKeown, the ONS’s director of economic statistics, said: “The increase in unemployment was driven mostly by younger people.”
Private sector earnings growth was the lowest in four years but was still ahead of inflation.
Annual growth in workers’ average earnings was 6% for the public sector and 4.4% for the private sector.
The ONS said the public sector annual growth rate is affected by some public sector pay rises being paid earlier in 2025 than in 2024.
After the public sector, the wholesaling, retailing, hotels and restaurants sector showed the strongest regular annual growth rate.
