Jobless rate rises to 5.1% as wage growth slips back further

Britain’s unemployment rate rose to its highest level for nearly five years and wage growth slipped back further, with young people in particular suffering amid a tough jobs market, official figures have shown.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment rose to 5.1% in the three months to October, up from 5% in the three months to September.This is the highest since the first quarter of 2021 – but with the pandemic era stripped out, it is the highest since early 2016.