The Bureau of National Statistics said the annual increase in regular earnings, excluding bonuses, fell by 2.2% in the quarter to April, following the adjustment for the preferred measure of inflation – the biggest drop since November 2011. The average total pay, including bonuses, increased slightly by 0.4% thanks to the explosion of payments in the financial sector. British households are facing a severe squeeze in living standards, as rising profits go hand in hand with rising energy bills and the rising cost of a weekly shop, with inflation at its highest level since the early 1980s. However, workers in some sectors, mainly in the private sector in finance, information technology and business services, are benefiting from the strongest pay rise amid lower unemployment rates over the past 50 years and record job vacancies. The ONS said the sharp increase in City bonuses helped boost average wages – including bonuses across the economy – to 6.8% in the three months to April before inflation was taken into account. The average regular wage, excluding bonus payments, rose to 4.2% before inflation. Underlining the unequal impact of the cost-of-living crisis, amid the threat of strikes on railways and other industries amid sharp wage gaps, the average wage in the public sector rose by just 1.5%, compared with 8% in the private sector. Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk Analysts said tough labor market conditions helped boost wage growth ahead of inflation, with the latest figures revealing a new rise in job vacancies across the economy to a new record high of 1.3 million. Unemployment rose slightly on a monthly basis to 3.8% from 3.7% in March, although it remained at its lowest level since the 1970s. Rishi Sunak said the data showed that the labor market remained strong with redundancies at an all-time low. “Helping people at work is the best way to support families in the long run and we continue to support people in new and better jobs,” he added.
