Pay jumps as job vacancies continue to fall

Pay growth has picked up for the first time in more than a year, according to the latest official figures.

Regular pay, which excludes bonuses, grew at an annual pace of 5.2% between August and October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The number of job vacancies in the UK fell again, but still remains above pre-pandemic levels.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%, although there are questions over the reliability of the jobs figures from the ONS due to issues with how it gathers the data.