LONDON, Nov 11 (KUNA) -- The rate of UK unemployment has risen to five percent in the three months to September, indicating that the jobs market has weakened, according to new official figures.
It is the highest rate since the period covering December 2020 to February 2021, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
The increase in the unemployment rate was higher than expected, coming in above the 4.9 percent projected by many analysts ahead of the Budget on 26 November.
Average wage growth stood at 4.6 percent in the third quarter, down slightly from 4.7 percent in the three months to August.
ONS data showed that nearly 1.7 million people are claiming unemployment benefits, a slight decrease compared with the figure from a year ago.
The statistics also revealed a gap between public and private sector pay growth, with public sector wages rising by 6.6 percent compared to 4.2 percent in the private sector.
Liz McKeown, Director of Economic Statistics at the ONS, said that these figures point to a weakening labour market, and that the unemployment rate is up in the latest quarter to a post-pandemic high. The number of job vacancies, however, remains broadly unchanged.
Responding to the latest figures, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: "Over 329,000 more people have moved into work this year already, but today's figures are exactly why we're stepping up our plan to get Britain working." (end) nsb.dss