UK Wages Rising at Near Record Pace Add to Pressure on Rates

  • Labor shortages are forcing companies to raise pay for staff
  • Some signs jobs market softening with a fall in vacancies

Labor shortages have driven unemployment to record lows below 4%.

Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg
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UK wages are rising at a near unprecedented pace, heaping pressure on the Bank of England to deliver a 10th consecutive interest-rate increase next month.

Average earnings excluding bonuses were 6.4% higher in the three months through November than a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. That’s the biggest increase since records began in 2001, excluding the height of the coronavirus pandemic.