The latest labour market statistics report is mildly encouraging, showing employment at a new recovery high and a "surprise" fall in claimant-count unemployment last month.
The wider labour market survey measure of unemployment declined by 9,000 from three months ago but would have dropped 92,000 but for the return of 83,000 "discouraged workers" to the labour force, presumably partly reflecting improving job prospects.
Part-time employment accounted for 142,000 of the 167,000 increase in jobs over the last three months but total hours worked still increased by a solid 0.4%.
A disappointing feature of the report was a further decline in the stock of job vacancies but this is at odds with survey evidence and may reverse shortly – see previous post.
Earnings growth remains low but is moving up, partly in response to sustained high inflation. A measure of total pay growth, incorporating a 12-month moving average of bonuses, rose to an annual 2.2%, a 20-month high – see chart.
