The unemployment rate in the UK has increased slightly for the first quarter of the year to 4.5%, according to data from the Office for National Statistics today (13 May).
At the same time, the number of vacancies between February and April 2025 fell by 42,000 to 761,000, marking the 34th consecutive quarterly decline in 13 out of 18 industry sectors. Overall, vacancies were 34,000 below the Q1 2020 level. Bank of England cuts interest rates to 4.25% amid mounting challenges According to Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter, the ONS reading "may prove to be the start of the expected slowdown", after the UK labour market has been "surprisingly resilient thus far". She noted that growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) fell to 5.6% in t...
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