Likely 4% pension rise next year could help defuse row facing chancellor over winter fuel payment
UK state pension could rise by about £460 a yearBusiness live – latest updates
Among the many figures included in the monthly health check of the UK labour market from the Office for National Statistics one had special significance: the annual increase in average earnings.
That’s not because the other pieces of data don’t matter. The jobless rate (which fell from 4.2% to 4.1%), the number of people in work, the level of vacancies and the days lost through strikes all convey important information about the state of the economy.