Workers’ pay in Britain grew at its slowest pace since the beginning of this year in the last quarter, despite a decrease in unemployment.

The average earnings of workers rose by 2 percent in the three months to October, 0.1 percent below the expected rate of 2.3 percent. Analysts have pointed to these latest figures to illustrate why the Bank of England has kept interest rates at their current level, despite increasing speculation as to when they will be raised.

However the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, released today, show that the unemployment rate fell to a seven year low in the three months to September. The number of people out of work fell by 110,000 to 1.71 million between August and October, with the British unemployment now stands at 5.2 percent, 0.1 down on the previous figure..

Eurozone growth

Economic updates on the Eurozone also came in on Wednesday, with the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figure showing growth in the eurozone economy slowed slightly in December.

The figure for December came in at 54, slightly down from November’s figure of 54.2. However, any figure above 50 indicates growth. Inflation for the Eurozone also grew in November, to 0.2 percent, down 7.3 percent on the same period last year.

16/12/2015