Britain's unemployment rate rose to its highest level for nearly five years and wage growth slipped back further, with young people in particular suffering amid a tough jobs market, official figures show today.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment rose to 5.1% in the three months to October, up from 5% in the three months to September.
This is the highest since the first quarter of 2021 - but with the pandemic era stripped out, it is the highest since early 2016.
The ONS said average regular wage growth also pulled back again, to 4.6% in the three months to October, down from 4.7% in the previous three months, and was 0.9% higher after taking Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation into account.
The latest figures estimated the number of employees on payrolls plunged by 38,000 during November to 30.3 million in further evidence of a weakened jobs market.
The ONS said younger workers in particular were struggling in the difficult hiring climate.
"The overall picture continues to be of a weakening labour market,"Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said.
"The number of employees on payroll has fallen again, reflecting subdued hiring activity, while firms told us there were fewer jobs in the latest period," she said.
"This weakness is also reflected in an increase in the unemployment rate while vacancies remained broadly flat. The fall in payroll numbers and increase in unemployment has been seen particularly among some younger age groups," she added.
