Wage growth failing to keep pace with inflation:
“Once again the statistics show that employees’ pay is failing to keep up with the cost of living. Regular pay grew by 3.8% compared to the increase in the consumer price index of 5.5%, which is expected to rise much higher in the following months. Failure to keep pay in line with the cost of living increases the squeeze on people’s pay packets, particularly those on low incomes. This is one to watch as we progress through the pay increase and bonus season which generally ends in April.”
Record payrolled employees brings pension benefits:
“Better news is that we’ve seen another uptick in the number of payrolled employees, now at a record of 29.7 million employees, partly boosted by the continued move from self-employed into employment. The numbers of self-employed has still not recovered from the pandemic as people choose to get jobs as employees rather than work for themselves. Moving into employed jobs means that an increasing number of workers will benefit from workplace pensions, which includes the valuable employer pension contribution, helping people to build a resilient financial future.”
Over 50s continue to exit the workforce:
“Once again, this month’s figures show a jump in the number of people aged 50 to 64 who are economically inactive, as an increasing number of those at or approaching retirement age, largely men, are opting to step out of the workforce. The legacy effect of the pandemic is most evident in the older age bracket as many face poor health, redundancy or simply don’t want to return to the office post-coronavirus. But the single most important reason for older workers to exit the workforce continues to be due to retirement, especially amongst the professional groups. This group tend to be well-pensioned and many would have been fortunate to amass savings during the pandemic, enabling them to retire earlier than expected.
“Some who have opted to halt their working life early may now find high inflation impacting how much they have to live off. In the months ahead, we may start to see some individuals making a decision to return to employment if the cost of living crisis continues.”
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