(Alliance News) - The UK unemployment rate rose in the three months to October, while wage growth slowed, figures from the Office of National Statistics showed on Tuesday.
Between August to October 2022, the UK unemployment rate was 3.7%, up from 3.6% in the previous period of May to July.
The employment rate was 75.6%, up from 75.5% in the previous period. The employment rate was 76.5% in February 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in the UK.
In October, average weekly earnings for total pay including bonuses was GBP624, and GBP583 for regular pay. In September, they were GBP621 and GBP578, respectively.
The average rate of annual pay growth from August to October for both total and regular pay was the same at 6.1%. This compared to growth in average total pay of 6.0%, and growth in regular pay of 5.7%, from July to September.
Growth declined when adjusted for inflation, however. From August to October pay growth was down 2.7% against the prior year. This compared to a record annual fall of 3.0% from April to June.
Nonetheless, ONS said it was still "one of the largest falls in growth since comparable records began in 2001."
The finance and business services sector saw the largest regular growth rate at 7.0%, followed by the wholesaling, retailing, hotels and restaurants sector at 6.6%.
By Holly Beveridge; Alliance News reporter
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