Britain’s unemployment rate has risen by more than expected and earnings growth has eased back once again in the latest sign that economic uncertainty is affecting the UK jobs market. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the jobless rate jumped to 4.2% in the three months to February – the highest level for nearly six months and up from 3.9% in the three months to January. Most economists had been expecting the rate to only edge up slightly to 4% in the quarter. We’ve published the latest UK labour market figures.Headline indicators for the UK labour market for December 2023 to February 2024 show: ▪️ employment was 74.5%▪️ unemployment was 4.2%▪️ economic inactivity was 22.2% ➡️ https://t.co/TllNpQLjtS pic.twitter.com/rsTVAKMbfE — Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) April 16, 2024 The official figures also showed regular wages growth, excluding bonuses, falling back once again, to 6% in the three months to February. But, thanks to falling inflation, when taking the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) into account, real regular wages rose by 2.1%, which is the highest for almost two-and-a-half years. Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: “Recent trends of falling vacancy numbers and slowing earnings growth have continued this...