UK unemployment data: 0.7% average pay rise dwarfed by inflation

ONS data shows annual pay rise barely over a quarter of inflation rate, as unemployment falls 18,000 to 2.49 million.

Britain’s nascent economic recovery is yet to be felt in workers’ pockets, with wages rising at a paltry 0.7% in the year to August while prices grow almost four times faster.

Unemployment declined by 18,000 in the three months to August, to 2.49 million, according to the latest official snapshot of the labour market, and the number of people in work hit a fresh record high of 29.87 million people.

Watch the video ‘UK unemployment data’ on The Guardian website