“November’s stumble is looking less like a blip and more like a warning light.
“Britain’s once mighty rate of job creation is waning fast. The number of unemployed people is still falling, but that can hardly be considered a win as many of them are leaving the workforce rather than entering work.
“With official data also confirming that the flow of workers from the EU has slowed since the Brexit referendum, in many areas skill shortages may soon get worse.
“Ordinarily such a tight labour market should drive up wages as recruiters compete with each other to attract talent, but that simply isn’t happening.
“Real wages have now fallen for eight months in a row, meaning the rocketing cost of living is leaving workers more out of pocket every month.
“Depending on whether you’re a glass half full or half empty person, the economy’s abject failure to deliver real wage growth is either a sign of pay rises to come or evidence the labour market is becoming dysfunctional.
“To be fair, strides have been made in 2017. Hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been created, and the lion’s share of them are full, rather than part-time, roles.
“But such progress risks being a footnote to the UK’s brewing wage crisis.”
