Jobs growth easing
The backdrop of falling real incomes, as inflation remains higher than wage growth, rising interest rates and the prospect of a further rise in energy prices in April and as well as Council Tax increases suggests that the UK economy could struggle to grow in coming months.
The UK labour market appears to be stabilising after the hiatus of Covid, lockdowns and rebounds. Vacancies for new jobs have started to fall and overall number of hours worked in the UK economy are now only increasing by 0.5% compared to the same time last year. How lower demand for labour translates through to wage inflation is likely to be key to determine the course of UK interest rates in coming months.
Job vacancies are lower than this time last year and the growth of working hours has slowed markedly over recent months
Source: Bloomberg, Artorius
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