UK unemployment has risen to a near five-year high and wage growth has continued to cool, as the jobs market showed continued signs of weakness in the final quarter of the year.
The rate of UK unemployment rose to 5.2% in October to December, its highest point since early 2021 and up from 5.1% for the previous three months.
Annual growth in average earnings, excluding bonuses, was 4.2% in October to December, down from 4.5% for the previous three months.
The estimated number of payrolled employees in the UK fell by 121,000 in the year to December and by 6,000 on the month.
In the final quarter of the year, the number of payrolled employees fell by 46,000 over October to December and 130,000 over the year.
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An early estimate for payrolled employees in January showed a fall of 134,000 on the year and 11,000 on the month.
Meanwhile, the ONS said that the estimated number of vacancies in the UK has remained broadly flat in recent periods. Early estimates for November to January suggested a small increase of 2,000 vacancies, compared to August to October.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics for the ONS, said: “The number of workers on payroll fell further in the final quarter of the year, reflecting weak hiring activity, although it is largely unchanged in the latest month.
“Over the same period the unemployment rate increased, with data showing that more people who were out of work are now actively looking for a job.”
She added: “The number of vacancies has remained broadly stable since the middle of last year. Alongside rising unemployment this means that the number of unemployed people per vacancy has increased, reaching a new post-pandemic high. Meanwhile, redundancies are also showing an upward trend.”
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