Britain’s average pay rises, but so does unemployment
Rural communities have the highest relative costs of living and the lowest wages. Its also wickedly difficult to find a new job if you lose one in rural England. This article provides little cheer for us then. It tells us:
Britain enjoyed a bumper pay rise in spring, with average earnings 3.2% higher in the period from March to May 2015 than a year earlier, highlighting the increasing skills shortages forcing employers to offer higher wages.
But the better earnings figures, from the Office for National Statistics, came as unemployment rose for the first time in two years, sparking fears that Britain’s booming labour market has lost some of its momentum.
Employment also fell for the first time in two years, dragged down by the government’s continued austerity programme that has forced 22,000 public sector job cuts since December and 59,000 since May last year.
James Knightley, UK economist at ING, said: “This is the first fall in employment since March 2013 and the first rise in the unemployment rate since December 2013.