Unemployment has gone up in the UK, with the jobless rate unexpectedly rising, while pay growth has slowed, reflecting wider weakness in the economy. The unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 3.9% in the three months to January from 3.8%, according to the Office for National Statistics, at a time when the economy entered into recession. City economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged. The number of people claiming jobless benefits increased by 16,800 in February. Employment growth has tailed off, from an increase of 72,000 in the three months to December to a fall of 21,000 in the three months to January. At the same time, as employers hired more people, the number of job vacancies in the economy declined, by 43,000 to 908,000 in the three months to February. (But they remain more than 100,000 above their pre-pandemic level.) Average earnings grew by 5.6% between November and January, down from 5.8% in the previous three months. Excluding bonuses, pay growth slowed from 6.2% to 6.1%. Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "The easing in wage growth in January is probably still a bit too slow for the Bank of England’s liking. But there are encouraging signs that a more marked slowdown is just around the corner and that an interest rate cut in June is possible." The Bank of England wants to see evidence that wage growth is slowing before cutting borrowing costs. Britain’s competition watchdog plans to launch a formal investigation into vet pricing, as it has multiple concerns, including that pet owners might be overpaying for medicines or prescriptions. After taking a look at the market for the UK’s 16 million pet owners, the Competition and Markets Authority flagged these concerns: • Consumers may not be given enough information to enable them to choose the best veterinary practice or the right treatment for their needs. • Concentrated local markets, in part driven by sector consolidation, may be leading to weak competition in some areas. • Large corporate groups may have incentives to act in ways which reduce choice and weaken competition. • Pet owners might be overpaying for medicines or prescriptions. • The regulatory framework is outdated and may no longer be fit for purpose. Referring to the watchdog’s concerns, Sarah Cardell, chief executive, said: "These include pet owners finding it difficult to access basic information like price lists and prescription costs – and potentially overpaying for medicines. We are also concerned about weak competition in some areas, driven in part by sector consolidation, and the incentives for large corporate groups to act in ways which may reduce competition and choice." The CMA has launched a four-week consultation on the proposal to launch a market investigation. The agenda • 12.30pm GMT: US inflation for February (forecast: 31%, previous: 3.1%) We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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