Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, grew by 7.8% in the June-August quarter, a marginal decrease from the 7.9% expansion in the preceding trimester. Inclusive of bonuses, earnings escalated by 8.1%, slightly down from July’s 8.4%.

This wage inflation, partly driven by special payments to NHS staff and civil servants, indicates implications for the upcoming triple lock state pension adjustments pegged to the July earnings statistics.

Notably, this consistent rise in earnings has eclipsed inflation for three consecutive months, alleviating the cost of living pressures on households. Public sector pay saw a 6.8% upswing, whereas the private sector experienced an 8% increase.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt welcomed the inflation reduction and real wage growth, emphasising the need to adhere to their strategy for slashing inflation by half. However, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee anticipates a decline in wage growth, counting on this to attenuate inflation from its current 6.8% to the 2% target. This outlook hinges on the assumption that the economic slowdown, induced by interest rate hikes, will temper wage spikes.

Huw Pill, the bank’s chief economist, cautioned that the ONS’s wage growth figures appear anomalously high compared to other wage pressure indicators the Bank monitors.

Supporting this, the labour market shows signs of contraction, with job vacancies falling to 988,000 – the lowest in two years – highlighting the fluidity and uncertainty in employment trends, vital for Scottish workers and policymakers alike.

The ONS deferred the publication of employment and unemployment statistics until the following week due to inadequate responses to its Labour Force Survey, committing to leveraging the most reliable data sources for accurate labour market estimates.