ONS: Real wages fall and joblessness up

23 February 2018

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown that real wages are continuing to fall and unemployment is rising.

Real wages fell for the tenth month in a row as pay growth failed to rise above the rate of inflation.

Meanwhile, unemployment rose for the first time in nearly five years, driven by joblessness among the under 24s.

The number of people out of work increased by 46,000 to 1.47 million in the final quarter of 2017; while the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3% the previous year.

Even for those in work, there are questions around the quality and stability of their jobs, with as many as 901,000 people reported as being employed through zero-hour contracts.