Unemployment has risen for the first time since 2016.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that for the three months to December last year, here were 1.47 million unemployed people,4.4 per cent, 46,000 more than for July to September 2017 but 123,000 fewer than for a year earlier.
Meanwhile real earnings continue to fall.While average weekly earnings for employees in Great Britain in nominal terms increased by 2.5%, when adjusted for inflation, they fell by 0.3%.
Matthew Percival, CBI Head of Employment, said:
“Rising unemployment is disappointing, but job vacancies reaching another record shows that businesses are creating opportunities. This underlines why skills, including retraining, need to be at the heart of our industrial strategy so that everyone can benefit from the opportunities created by economic growth.
“Meanwhile, slowing productivity growth and rising pay growth makes an interest rate increase more likely.”
