Wages fall sharply but unemployment rate drops

UK wages suffered a sharp fall between January and March but the market for jobs remained buoyant, says new data.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said earnings, when adjusted for inflation, dropped by 1.2% in the biggest fall since 2013.

At the same time, however, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly 50 years while job vacancies hit a fresh high.

"There continued to be a mixed picture for the labour market," said the ONS.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in the first three months of the year, which is the lowest since 1974. Between January and March there were 1.257 million people out of work.

Meanwhile, job vacancies swelled to 1.295 million between February and April.

"There were actually fewer unemployed people than job vacancies for the first time since records began," said Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the ONS.