UK pay growth fastest since 2008 as firms face staff shortages
Wages excluding volatile bonuses rose by an annual 3.2% percent in the September quarter, the biggest increase since the final quarter of 2008
Average pay in Britain is rising at the fastest rate in nearly a decade, amid a record fall in the number of eastern European workers before Brexit and business complaints about a shortage of qualified staff. Wages excluding volatile bonuses rose by an annual 3.2% in the September quarter, the biggest increase since the final quarter of 2008, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday. But adjusted for inflation, the gains are less impressive. Pay is still lower in real terms than a decade ago, and the third-quarter rise of 0.9% was last higher in late 2016. Britain's economy has lost momentum since the 2016 Brexit vote. The pick-up in wages has not been matched by improving productivity, without which gains in living standards could be eroded by higher inflation. Year-on-year growth in output per hour slowed to 0.1% in the third quarter from 1.4% the quarter before, Tuesday's data showed. That is likely to reinforce Bank of England (BoE) concern that faster p...
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