UK unemployment rate holds steady as wage growth accelerates

UK unemployment fell by 63,000 to 1.96 million in the three months to October, while wage growth picked up, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The decline in unemployment was the smallest quarterly fall for a year. However, the unemployment rate remained at its lowest level in six years, matching the 6% originally reached in August. The figure was slightly higher than the 5.9% predicted by analysts. The number of people in employment grew by 115,000 over the period. Employment growth has continually slowed since reaching a peak of 300,000 earlier this year. The ONS added the number of people not in the labour force remained "little changed" at 9.06 million. The ONS also said wage growth outstripped consumer price index...