Growth still masking skewed economy

Official figures for average weekly earnings in March for regular pay (excluding bonuses) in the whole economy continue to show growth at 4.9%. However, this growth continues to be inflated by the elimination of lower-paying jobs due to the pandemic. Underlying growth is more like 3.0%.

Financial and business services are still enjoying a bonanza at 7.2%, while manufacturing saw a welcome but much lesser rise to 2.7%.

LRD Payline data on agreed deals for April shows a flat across the board median increase at 2.0%, but this is still based on very thin data. The biggest growth for the month has been in services.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours

http://www.lrd.org.uk/index.php?pagid=18