UK’s bumper pay rises show inflation is tricky to shift

Labour market figures do not yet show effects of Rachel Reeves’s tax hikes on employers in the budget

• UK pay growth leaps to 5.2%, reducing chances of interest rate cut

Business figures have been sounding increasingly alarmed about the state of the UK’s jobs market in recent days, with the recruiter James Reed claiming it augurs a recession.

There were certainly some signs of a slowdown in the latest labour market data, published on Tuesday – but with pay growing briskly, it was hard to detect a significant shift.