The employment rate came in at 75.1% in the three months to April, versus 75.0% in March
Unemployment came in at 4.6%, versus 4.5% in March and market expectations of 4.6%
Economic Inactivity in the three months to April came in at 21.3%, versus 21.4% the three months to March

Annual total earnings growth came in at 5.3%, versus 5.5% in the previous three month period and market expectations of 5.4%
Isaac Stell, Investment Manager at Wealth Club, commented;

“The UK labour market is at a crossroads with the unemployment rate ticking higher and hitting its highest rate since July 2021. Wage growth, albeit firmly ahead of inflation also continues to slow.

This latest batch of data should come as no surprise. Businesses have been burdened with not only a huge rise in their national insurance bills but also rising wage bills following the increase to the national minimum wage in April. Consecutive months of rising unemployment therefore were inevitable as businesses look to manage their costs in the face of fiscal pressure.

These added costs will likely trickle down into the real economy in due course, as declining wage growth will likely dampen the UK consumers animal spirits as they look to tighten their belts during uncertain times. With the likelihood of further tax rises due in the autumn businesses are also likely to put investment plans on ice. The outlook for UK PLC remains very uncertain.”