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can we take any more of this bad news


UK wages rise faster than expected

• 9 hours ago

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Image copyright Oli Scarff
Wages saw faster than expected growth in the three months to July, as they continued to outstrip rising prices.
Excluding bonuses, wages grew by 2.9%, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), well above the inflation rate.
Earnings have now outstripped inflation for four months.
Unemployment continued to fall, dropping by 55,000 to 1.36 million, with the jobless rate remaining at 4%, its lowest level for over 40 years.
The number of people in work was unchanged at 32.4 million.

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The ONS said the labour market was "robust" with the number of people in work "still at historically high levels".
"With the number of people in work little changed, employment growth has weakened," said the ONS's head of labour market statistics, David Freeman.
"Meanwhile, earnings have grown faster than prices for several months, especially looking at pay excluding bonuses."
The inflation rate for the three-month period to July was 2.4%, with the rate for just July slightly higher at 2.5%.

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Andrew Wishart, UK economist at Capital Markets, said the figures indicated that "competition for workers is finally starting to provide greater support to wages".
However, he does not expect the rosier picture for wages to prompt an interest rate rise from the Bank of England.
"We still think that the MPC will hold off raising interest rates again until the near-term uncertainty due to the Brexit negotiations is resolved," he added.
The Bank of England raised its key interest rate for only the second time in a decade last month. The current interest rate of 0.75% is the highest since March 2009.
Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown said the latest employment figures showed that the Bank of England was right to raise rates last month.
"The Bank looks at wage growth as a key driver of inflation.
"The problem is that if wages grow without corresponding productivity growth - as we've seen in the UK - it means more money chasing the same quantity of goods and services, which pushes up prices," he warned.
Analysis:
Kamal Ahmed, BBC economics editor

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Image copyright Getty Images
Yesterday economic growth hit 0.6%, the best number since July last year.
Today, incomes are up 2.9%, a figure that has not been bettered since July 2015.
With inflation for the month of July at 2.5%, real wage growth (which accounts for price rises) rose to 0.5% between May and July.
High levels of employment could finally be passing through to our incomes as firms compete for our work.
It will take a long time to repair the damage to incomes over the decade since the financial crisis.
But with economic growth stronger and the possibility of some form of Brexit deal rising, this is certainly better news for the economy overall.
Higher wages can feed through to higher levels of consumer spending. And consumer spending drives around two-thirds of what happens in the economy.
Cost of living
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Esther McVey, said: "Since 2010 we have delivered significant growth in jobs, and in the last six months we've seen real-terms wage growth.
"We haven't had a lower unemployment rate for over 40 years and I'm especially proud that youth unemployment is at a record low, falling by over 45% since 2010 - opening up career opportunities for our next generation."
Labour's shadow work and pensions secretary, Margaret Greenwood, said: "Today's figures hide the real story of the labour market under this government: people are earning less than they did in 2008, and millions of workers are stuck in insecure jobs.
"More families are working harder to get by, but the rising cost of living and low pay means that a job is no longer a reliable route out of poverty."
'Alarmingly high'
The ONS said job vacancies rose by 14,000 in the period to 833,000 - a record high.
Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said this was "alarmingly high" and "further evidence of persistent skills shortages".
"While the number of people in work stands close to historic highs, firms continue to report that attempting to recruit staff with the right skills is an increasingly uphill struggle, which is stifling their ability to grow and boost productivity," he added.
Tej Parikh, senior economist at the Institute of Directors, said firms were now in heated competition for skills.
"Vacancies are at an all-time high, and recruiters are finding it increasingly difficult to match available workers with job descriptions.
"In these circumstances, we would normally expect significant increases to salaries as firms attempt to attract the talent they need, but high costs and subdued productivity growth have impeded this somewhat," he added.
Mr Parikh urged the chancellor to act in the forthcoming Autumn Budget to help provide reduce costs for businesses.

 

Kiwi please don't post positive news as it upsets the remoaners.
And
Never post anything about positive about Trump, because anything positive news has nothing to do with him and he inherited it from Obama. However anything negative he didn't inherit...(like the wall).

 

We've had so much good news with the economy etc lately. Strangely I haven't heard any remainers commenting on any of it.




We're all doomed I tell yer!

 

meanwhile some poor sod got acid thrown in his face. Disgusting. Maybe when caught they should throw acid in their face.

 

I know exactly what you think based on your posts on here. You seem to feed off the very food in the press that is all theatre imo

Do you not ever consider that most of the Brexit discussions take place behind the scenes? You can’t honesty believe the BBC or Sky as being newsworthy

They publish a mess just to puppeteer the nation. It’s all a rubbish power game

If you could try to understand the real dangers to a no deal that seems to be rally cry with a few on here ?

No I wanted Sterling all the time
Business will choose what it wants

Under no circumstances would I currently support the U.K. regardless of my heritage

It’s currently the joke of the world possibly the worse in our history total shambles

I believe most on here have got sick of it all

Seriously imo you are welcome to it and the mess that has been generated by the Brexit stuff. Personally it no longer effects me it’s 33 degrees here tomorrow

Dreading coming back to have a Op in Oct already

The U.K. will never be united again imo
Not worth the effort

 

Anything positive that has happened - and there really isn't much at all - will be reversed by Brexit, Col. The article Kiwi posted spoke of record vacancies (he won't have read it), which is very damaging to the economy. There are record numbers of people in zero-hours contracts, contributing to the fact there are millions of working people qualifying for benefits. Nothing positive there. I think the reason Remainers are quiet is that they are patiently waiting for Brexit to unravel, which is inevitable imo.

 

That's fine. if it doesn't bother you then stop moaning about it. you keep coming back knocking our country. You are like a boomerang.
To say our country is a 'Joke' is actually disrespectful to all the fab people that make our country great. Probably the same people that are doing your op.
The fact is DT is that you are probably as bored as I was when I went to France. Nice place just boring with nothing open. All the villages and towns are boarded up by 7pm and nothing exists, especially down your neck of the woods. I drove through village after village without seeing life. It all sounds nice, looks nice but it's boring as hell.

 

The remoaners will say different Col. It's like the media, only ever report the negative Brexit stuff.

 

why do you think i dont read what i post
just because you post videos without looking at them dosent mean we all do

 

This country is far from great. Poverty, homeless, terrorist attacks, food banks, corruption, politics, undermanned police force, nhs on it's knees, zero hour contracts, gang culture growing, murders on a daily basis etc etc the list is endless. Don't get me wrong, it has nothing to do with brexit or leavers/remainers but it really is a long way off from great. I don't know where society is heading or what can be done. Totally agree about acid attacks though Ellers. They should chuck some in the face of all the culprits!!

 

Totally agree Bob.
I only posted about the economic good news because of all the scaremongering about Brexit (We were supposed to go into a recession the day after we voted to leave apparently).
I agree that many aspects of our country are a mess.
If there were an election tomorrow, I couldn't vote for any of the main parties.
****ers the lot of 'em!

 

We're way past Remainers vs Leavers, Col. There's no point in commenting on small chunks of news one way or the other. It's the long term trends that count. It's not just Brexit-related, either. That's not the only thing in the world affecting our futures. It's just the big distraction for us that means we're not looking at everything else too closely. Everyone with a vested interest can find "an expert" with a point of view to support their position and a raft of people who will stand up and call it "fake" if they don't like it.

Can anyone explain something to me?

It's now generally agreed that "trickle down" economics does not work. The evidence shows the opposite is true. Putting more money into the pockets of the self-styled "wealth creators" just results in them gaming the system and keeping more of it. Look at the graphs that show the increasing gaps between the rich and poor - especially in the USA and the UK. It's also fairly well agreed that "austerity" doesn't work and the misery it generates doesn't translate into a change for the better. Yet, we continue with it.

Why do ordinary people feel proud about a rise in GDP, a rise in employment figures, a rise in the value of the stock market - when they personally don't get to see anything for it, just a reduction in their personal spending power? Why are so many people proud that other people are doing well at their expense and support policies and actions that will continue it?

 

You could be describing most EU countries here Bob. They all have problems.
I just find it stupid that people who live abroad do nothing but moan about this country yet they keep returning for various reasons.

When In France I met some ex-pats who did nothing but complain about the UK and how good it was living in France. None of them could get jobs due to the protectionism of France and jobs. They all had one thing in common though. They said they came back for dentists and Dr's. What does that tell you?

One guy moaned about Brexit and basically said the leave voters were twats and were ruining their lives. I had to bite my lip because I thought it selfish of him. He chose to live abroad, he doesn't live or pay taxes here yet he moans about people voting how they did?

As for Col's post, I would say why not post good news. Plenty on here have posted negative news at every opportunity. Tough luck if they don't like it. Day by day things are changing re Brexit and the only news coming out from the remain camp is last ditch project fear.

 

It's called capitalism. People have tried communism and it didn't work.

 

I’m away at the moment so not so on it with the news. What good stuff did I miss? I saw GDP grew just above 0%.

 

Neither could I mate. It's ridiculous on all sides. What really winds me up is the foreign aid budget. Ffs how much do we send to India?!?!? They have their own space programme ffs and in turn they shell out aid. It beggars belief when the money could be spent in our own country.

 

Col you post what you like mate. Some don't like it because it goes against what they have said in the past. I remember the early days when all the experts on here were saying what would happen and funny enough it hasn't happened. It seems to have gone quiet from certain sections. Just goes to show that you can sound like you know what you are talking about but you can still be wrong. I remember plenty of negative posts of doom and gloom and when it didn't happen they stopped? Funny that. It's almost like people want Brexit to fail so they can say "I told you so". The news about the economy/jobs/growth is good news, so post it.

 

Of course that's good news. But remember brexit hasn't happened yet. None of us know the potential implications whether they be for the better or for the worse....yet. only time will tell on that score. We all believe what we choose to. Some chose to believe the 350m bus propaganda or that poster of immigrants. Some choose to believe if we leave then the whole country will crash and burn. I know the bus was a blatant lie, only time will tell on the economics and financial implications.