British workers’ pay grew at its joint fastest pace in over a decade, fuelled by further job creation, adding to suggestions that Brexit uncertainty is prompting firms to hire workers rather than make longer-term investment in equipment.
Total earnings, including bonuses, rose by an annual 3.5 percent in the three months to February, the Office for National Statistics said, matching the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
That was the joint highest rate since mid-2008 although in February alone the pace of wage growth slowed.
Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 3.4 percent on the year, also in line with the Reuters poll.
It was the first fall in that measure of pay growth since the middle of last year.
Britain’s labour market has defied the approach of Brexit, helping households whose spending drives the economy.
