UK job vacancies hit 5-year low as wage growth holds steady ahead of Thursday's BoE rate decision
MacroDigital FinanceCommodity
The Office for National Statistics reported on 15 September that the UK labour market continues to slow, with the number of job vacancies in the three months to August 2026 falling to 702,000, the lowest since the three months to April 2021. Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses in the three months to July 2026 rose 3.5% compared with the same period a year earlier, close to the lowest level since 2020 and in line with economists' expectations. Regular pay for private-sector employees excluding bonuses, the key gauge of domestic inflationary pressure, rose 2.9%, the weakest since the three months to October 2020, while average weekly earnings including bonuses slowed to 3.9% from 4.2% in the three months to June 2026. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.9% in the three months to July 2026. The data were published ahead of the Bank of England's policy rate decision this Thursday, 17 September, with the market expecting the Bank of England to keep rates unchanged despite pressure from inflation driven by the Iran war. Investors see roughly a one-in-three chance that the Bank of England will raise rates by 0.25% at this meeting, but expect a hike at the November Monetary Policy Committee meeting and another in December. Meanwhile, crude oil prices rose on concerns about disruption to global crude supply after attacks on energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
