"The substantial and unexpected rise in unemployment is a clear warning that the UK labour market may be running out of steam, but there are reasons to believe that this is a one-off, as opposed to the beginning of a larger employment crisis. There has still been a significant rise in employment dominated by an increase in full time, permanent jobs, while some of the rise in unemployment may be attributed to more students entering the labour market.
“The strengthening of wage growth is also a welcome sign as, when coupled with likely falls in inflation, it opens up the possibility of real wage growth in the coming months, which will be a great relief to those workers who have seen their pay packets squeezed for months on end.”
