Pay grows at slowest rate for almost two years

Wage growth has fallen to its slowest pace for nearly two years as the job market continues to cool.

Earnings grew at an annual pace of 5.7% in the three months to May, but are still outpacing rising prices.

The number of job vacancies has fallen while growth in the number of employees on payrolls has slowed, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The unemployment rate remained at 4.4% in the three months to May.

“We continue to see overall some signs of a cooling in the labour market, with the growth in the number of employees on the payroll weakening over the medium term and unemployment gradually increasing," said Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics.

Between April and June this year, the number of job vacancies fell by 30,000 on the quarter to 889,000, led by the retail and hospitality sectors.

The number of vacancies has now been falling for two years, but still remains higher than pre-coronavirus pandemic levels.

Ms Keown added that growth in earnings, "while remaining relatively strong, is showing signs of slowing again".

"However, with inflation falling, in real terms it is at its highest rate in over two and a half years."

After taking the impact of inflation into account, wages were up by 3.2%.