Is the Bank of England about to cut interest rates? Today’s labour market statistics might just give them the room to do so. The latest data, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning, shows that the number of payrolled employees is up, the unemployment rate is up, vacancies are down and pay growth is slowing. But is it enough?
Job vacancies fell for the 20th consecutive time between December and February – and by twice as in last month’s release. Vacancies were down to 908,000 on the quarter, a decrease of 43,000 – though they remain far higher than pre-lockdown levels. More data released yesterday by the Reed recruitment agency supports this too: job adverts are at their lowest level in more than three years. Falling recruitment is a clear sign that the heat is coming out of the jobs market.
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