'Mixed news' | Job vacancies & wage growth fall again, ONS finds

The UK has recorded its second largest fall in real wage growth since records began more than 20 years ago, in addition to yet another drop in job vacancies, new data has revealed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that, in real terms, (adjusted for inflation) over the year, total and regular pay both fell by 2.7%; this is slightly smaller than the record fall in real regular pay we saw in April to June 2022 (3.0%) but still remains among the largest falls in growth since comparable records began in 2001..

The UK employment rate for August to October 2022 increased by 0.2 percentage points on the quarter to 75.6% but is still below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

In September to November, the estimated number of vacancies fell by 65,000 on the quarter to 1,187,000. Despite five consecutive quarterly falls, the number of vacancies remains at historically high levels. The fall in the number of vacancies reflects uncertainty across industries, as respondents continue to cite economic pressures as a factor in holding back on recruitment.