Jobless rate above predicted peak as budget tax hikes kick in | Money News

The UK’s jobless rate ticked up to 4.6% in April while payrolled employment has fallen sharply since, according to official figures covering the period when budget tax hikes on businesses came into effect.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the new unemployment rate covered the three months to April.

It had previously stood at 4.5% – a total of more than 1.6 million people.

At 4.6%, it is above the peak level predicted for this year, just in March, by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Figures from the taxman also highlighted by the ONS showed the number of people in payrolled employment during May fell by 109,000 – double April’s revised figure of 55,000.

The ONS Labour Force Survey data was the first to cover April’s rises in employer national insurance contributions and the national living wage – hikes to costs for businesses which lobby groups had warned would result in job losses, price rises and lower wage settlements.

The ONS figures showed average weekly earnings, excluding the effects of bonuses, over the three months to April were down from 5.6% to 5.2% year on year.

Despite the easing, that level remains comfortably ahead of the 3.5% rate of inflation but will be welcomed by the Bank of England as its rate-setters continue to fret that strong wage growth represents an inflation risk ahead.

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