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Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureRegular pay grew faster in the public sector than the private sector in the last year, according to today’s labour market report.It shows that annual average regular earnings growth was 5.5% for the public sector and 4.9% for the private sector in March-May.Across sectors, pay rose fastest in the wholesaling, retailing, hotels and restaurants sector. at 7.1%. The finance and business services sector had the lowest annual regular growth rate, at 3.1%.ShareLooking back at the payrolls data, the biggest job losses over the last year have been in the hospitality sector.There has been a fall of 108,000 jobs in the accommodation and food service activities sector in the last year, the jobs report shows.But the largest increase was in the health and social work sector, with a rise of 67,000 employees.ShareUnemployment rate at four-year highAt 4.7% in March-May, the UK unemployment rate for those aged 16 and over is now at its highest rate since April-June 2021.A chart showing the UK unemployment rate Photograph: ONSShare178,000 jobs lost in Labour’s first yearToday’s jobs report shows that there has been a steady drop in the number of payrolled employees in the UK this year.Company payrolls peaked in July 2024, the month of the general election, at 30.451m.But they have fallen in most months since; by last month, payrolls had dropped to an estimated 30.265m.That, the ONS reports, is a decline of 178,000 employees over the 12-month period since June 2024.A chart showing UK payrolls Photograph: ONSThis decline will fuel criticism of Rachel Reeves’s budget last autumn, which hiked taxes on employers, leading to warnings that companies would cut back on hiring.Today’s jobs report estimates that last month, payroll numbers fell by 41,000 people.But there is some good news for the government. The ONS has revised its estimate for May’s payroll numbers, to a decrease of 25,000, not the whopping 109,000 fall first estimated. That suggests the jobShareIntroduction: UK labour market continues to weakenGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.The UK’s labour market ‘continues to weaken’, according to the latest employment and unemployment data, just released, highlighting the economic challenges facing the government.The Office for National Statistics has reported that the UK’s unemployment rate rose in the March to May quarter, to 4.7%. UPDATED: That’s up from 4.5% in the December-February, and higher than economists had expected.Today’s jobs report also shows that the estimated number of vacancies in the UK fell by 56,000 on the quarter, to 727,000, in April to June 2025, as companies continued to cut back on hiring.Wage growth slowed too: annual growth in employees’ average earnings for both regular earnings (excluding bonuses) and total earnings (including bonuses) was 5.0%.That means the cost of living squeeze has tightened, as inflation has now risen to 3.6%.That’s down from 5.3% for regular pay, and 5.4% for total pay, a month ago.ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown says:
“The labour market continues to weaken, with the number of employees on payroll falling again, though revised tax data shows the decline in recent months is less pronounced than previously estimated.
“Pay growth fell again in both cash and real terms, but both measures remain relatively strong by historic standards.
“The number of job vacancies is still falling and has now been dropping continuously for three years.”
The report also shows that the UK employment rate increased to 75.2% – up 0.2 percentage points on the previous quarter – while the economic inactivity rate (which tracks how many people are neither in work nor looking for a job) dropped to 21.0%, from 21.4% three months ago.The agenda
7am BST: UK labour market report
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10am BST: Eurozone inflation report for June
1.30pm BST: US retail sales for June
1.30pm BST: US weekly jobless data
1.30pm BST: The ‘Philly Fed’ business conditions report
ShareUpdated at 07.50 BST
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