“The labour market continues to deliver on jobs, but there are a number of underlying weaknesses. Much of the job growth has been for part-time work and as a consequence, total hours worked in the economy have fallen slightly.
“Furthermore, wage growth - comparing regular pay over the last three months with the same three months of last year - has started to slacken. Real wages continue to rise, but this owes more to the continued fall in inflation rather than any improvement in wages.
“It looks as if employers have been coping with recent weak growth by offering more jobs with fewer hours. If and when GDP growth revives later this year, we might expect more full-time employment. However, as things stand there appears to be little immediate upward pressure on wages despite growing labour and skill shortages.
“Employers should nonetheless not be misled by these short-term signals. It is still highly likely that labour will become more constrained over the coming years, partly as a result of Brexit, so now is the time to start making long-term plans on workforce development and enhanced investment in skills.”
