Britain’s unemployment rate dipped to 4.1 per cent in the three months to the end of November as job vacancies surged to a record 1.25 million in the fourth quarter.
Signs that the UK's labour market is improving came as the jobless rate fell to the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of people on company payrolls rose by 184,000 in December despite the emergence of the Omicron variant, the Office for National Statistics said.
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said the latest figures were “proof that the jobs market is thriving, with employee numbers rising to record levels, and redundancy notifications at their lowest levels since 2006 in December”.
Britain's job market performed more strongly than the Bank of England expected late last year, as unemployment fell despite the end of the government's furlough programme, which was supporting more than a million workers in September.
While a surge of Covid-19 cases linked to the Omicron variant did cause caused widespread staff absences and hammered demand in the hospitality sector at the end of the year, the ill-effects are set to be short-lived, say economists.
The more buoyant figures suggest strength in the economy that may encourage the Bank to retain its focus on inflation, which is on track to surpass 6 per cent this year, with another boost to interest rates expected at its next meeting on February 3.
Concern about possible labour shortages and pay pressures over the medium term was the major reason why the central bank raised interest rates last month for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“Assuming that restrictions are lifted potentially as soon as next week, the labour market could become even hotter, vindicating the BoE’s hawkish stance before Christmas,” Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK.
Tuesday's data showed that average earnings in the three months to November were 4.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, while job vacancies in the three months to December hit a record 1.247 million.
In nominal terms, pay growth is well above the 2 to 3 per cent range seen before the pandemic, and another potential inflation concern for the central bank, given weak underlying productivity growth.
But fast-rising inflation is eroding the benefit of higher pay for workers, with pay excluding bonuses flat in inflation-adjusted terms in the three months to November, its weakest performance since July last year.
“The real story this month can be found in wage growth,” said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell financial analyst. “For the first time since July 2020, wages actually fell in November if you take into account blistering inflation figures.”
The question is how this shift will affect the Bank’s thinking, Ms Hewson added.
“Spiralling wage growth and a booming jobs market played into their decision-making to increase rates in December. Do they look at today’s figures and decide their plans need to speed up in order to help average workers feeling the pain? Or do they consider that wage growth, even if you exclude inflation, is slowing and new vacancies are slowing too? Will these two things add their own drag on the inflation equation?” she said.
Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics said few businesses appeared to be increasing wages substantially to retain their staff. But Derrick Dunne, chief executive of YOU Asset Management, said many had announced “inflation-busting” pay increases.
Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said despite real wages falling and set to decline further, he expected the Bank of England to raise interest rates to 0.5 per cent on February 3 and to 1.25 per cent by December.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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