Regular wages 6.0 vs Reuters poll 5.9
Jobless rate rises to 4.3, highest since 3 months to July 2023
Analysts split on implications for June rate cut
Investors leave rate cut bets unchanged

LONDON, May 14 Reuters British wages grew by more than expected, according to data published on Tuesday, but other figures suggested the labour market is losing some of its inflationary heat, keeping the Bank of England on alert about when to cut interest rates.

Regular wages, excluding bonuses, grew by 6.0 in the first three months of 2024 compared with the same period a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast wage growth of 5.9 which would have been lower than the 6.0 increase in the three months to February.

Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said Tuesday39;s data showed signs of a steady loosening in the labour market and the BoE would not be alarmed by wage growth figures which were in line with its latest forecasts.

Much as we have concerns over the jobs data, the labour market keeps gradually easing, and they give the Monetary Policy Committee a hook to hang a June rate cut on, Woods said.

Other analysts suggested that BoE policymakers might want to wait longer before cutting rates.

Wage growth came in hotter than expected even as other indicators pointed to further clear weakening in the labour market, Jack Kennedy, senior economist at jobs platform Indeed, said.

That casts doubt on a…