Wage growth continued to rise in the UK, driven by strong pay rises in the private sector, official figures show.
Regular pay increased by 5.6% on average between September and November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), compared with the same period the year before.
However, private sector earnings growth was stronger at 6%, compared with a rise of 4.1% in the public sector.
Despite a risk of higher wages pushing up inflation, the Bank of England is still expected to cut interest rates next month.
Rates are currently at 4.75%, but traders have bet on a cut to 4.5% in February, after inflation, which measures the rate prices rise at over time, unexpectedly fell last month.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said pay growth had picked up for the second consecutive period, “again driven by strong increases in the private sector”.
After accounting for the impact of inflation, pay rose on average by 3.4% on the year, the highest rate of growth since 2021.
