Unemployment figures increased by 15,000 in the three months to the end of March, which means that the period of falling unemployment has now come to an end.
Pay growth has also slowed considerably at the lowest rate since 2009 and – if bonuses are ignored – these are actually the worst figures since the ONS started reporting them in their current format twelve years ago.
On the up side, Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants fell by 7,300 last month and the total number of vacancies were at the highest level since 2008 – although a lot of the jobs are thought to be either temporary or part-time. There are also more public sector job losses scheduled to hit soon which could make things even worse.
