Unemployment ticks higher as wage growth slows

(Sharecast News) - UK unemployment ticked higher in the first quarter, official data showed on Tuesday, while wage growth slowed.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK unemployment rate was estimated to be 5.0% in January to March, up 0.5 percentage points year-on-year but down 0.1 percentage points on the previous three months.

The rate was marginally above consensus expectations of 4.9%.

Annual growth in employees' average regular earnings excluding bonuses fell to 3.4% from 3.6% a month previously, in line with expectations. Once bonuses were included, however, earnings grew by 4.1%, up on last month's 3.9% and ahead of forecasts for a drop to 3.8%.

Earnings in the public sector grew by 4.8%, and by 3.0% in the private sector.

Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: "Latest figures suggest the labour market remains soft, with vacancies at their lowest level in five years and unemployment higher than a year ago.

"Lower-paying sectors such as hospitality and retail have seen some of the largest falls in vacancies and payroll numbers, both in recent months and over the last year."

However, she acknowledged that while early estimates of the number of people on the payroll in April pointed to "further weakness", the start of the new tax year meant the figures "carry greater uncertainty" and were often subject to larger-than-average upward revisions.