British wages excluding bonuses grew by a slightly weaker-than-expected 6.1% in the three months to the end of January compared with the same time a year earlier, official data from the Office for National Statistics showed today.
A Reuters poll of economists had forecast regular wages - which are closely watched by the Bank of England as it considers when to start cutting interest rates - would rise by 6.2%.
The latest wage growth rate was slightly below a reading of 6.2% for the three months to the end of December.
Britain's unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in the November to January period, above economists' forecasts of 3.8%.
The ONS said yesterday there was greater uncertainty than usual about the unemployment rate, equivalent to around 0.1 percentage point in either direction, due to an issue analysing labour data from Northern Ireland.
