UK unemployment has remained at the highest rate in five years, new official figures show.
The jobless rate was to 5.2% in the three months to January, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.
Before last month, such a high hadn’t been seen since the three months to January 2021.
At the same time, wage growth was at its lowest in more than five years, the ONS said.
It means pay is still rising faster than inflation, but more slowly than before, in both the private and public sectors.
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Average pay, including bonuses, rose 3.8%, while average weekly earnings, which include bonuses, increased 3.9%.
It’s a big fall. Just a month earlier, those measures of pay increases had both been 4.2%.
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There are some signs of a rebound in the jobs market, though, as the number of payrolled employees rose slightly in January.
The number of job vacancies remained stable, according to the ONS.
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