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    Wage growth accelerates to 5.6% in new headache for the Bank of England
    United Kingdom

    Wage growth accelerates to 5.6% in new headache for the Bank of England

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    43 Comments

    1. spicypixel on

      I do enjoy the spin – “we are finally getting out of the lack of wage growth since 2008” is a bad outcome. 

      GDP rises and other theoretical metrics don’t really reasonable much to the lived experiences of the majority of the population and that’s a long term problem simmering.

      If housing and other key essentials keeps rising, wages kind of need to align to that or people are objectively getting poorer year on year.

    2. Lo_jak on

      So let me get this straight, they want low inflation, zero wage increases, yet we can’t possibly have cheaper rent / cost of living ???? Sounds like I need to get a job at the Bank of England! These fuckers are paid to not give a shit about anyone but themselves…..

    3. CreepyTool on

      So if wages remain at their current level, we’re fucked.

      If they rise, we’re fucked.

      Something tells me we’re fucked.

    4. Zennyzenny81 on

      It seems likely to me that interest rates are not going to come down substantially from here, certainly not to where they were.

      But the least few pay rises I’ve had HAVE been really good, and a good chunk higher than inflation, so at least I’m catching up again. 

    5. bobbymoonshine on

      You know who the papers report to when they report “real incomes are going up” as miserable news for the investment classes

      Yeah no shit the people who passively extract value from workers all get a headache over the thought that workers are keeping more of what they produce for their employer

      Why that should be the point of view our media prioritise however, that is a different question

    7. Medium_Situation_461 on

      People get higher wages, people have more disposable income. Why is that a headache for the BOE?

    8. ThePolymath1993 on

      So when the top 1% make money hand over fist at the expense of the rest of us, that’s just fine but when the rest of us finally see real term wage growth that’s a bad thing?

      For reference the Standard is majority owned by Evgeny Lebedev, Lord of Siberia (thanks Boris) with a minority stake owned by the Daily Mail group. Makes sense people like that pushing the line that your wages going up is a bad thing.

    9. Beersink on

      Bye bye Triple Lock State pension increases soon methinks. It’ll be means tested by the time I can draw it.

    13. wkavinsky on

      Oh no, wages going up are a bad thing stories again?

      Wages going up are a good thing for stimulating a flat economy and bringing more money into the economy.

      If there are effects on inflation either (a) stop the price gouging that’s been happening for the past 5 years [prices go up because of disaster a, but never come down, even when disaster a is no longer having an effect), or stop doing so much QE to force interest rates lower than they’ve historically been (4-5% on any savings account was the *norm* prior to 2008).

      The response shouldn’t be to turn around and say “wages need to stagnate or go down” – that’s a failure of monetary policy.

    15. Upstairs_Internal295 on

      Ok, hear me out, I know this a crazy thought, but: Could it be possible that having a global financial system that’s threatened if the vast majority of humans get enough to survive well, means it isn’t a good system to have? I know, I know, I’m nuts, it’s inevitable, etc etc.

    17. Trilogy91 on

      They can’t have the peasants earning a few quid more. Quick put up interest rates. Smash them back down.

    18. mpanase on

      Wait, so the disastrous new government and budget that were going to tank salaries… actually came with the highest raise in the last few years?

      And that’s also horrible according to these guys?

    19. Allnamestaken69 on

      Damn all these articles about wages growing being bad, wonder who is sponsoring them.

      We deffo get paid too much guys, we have to much of a good thing, wages growing? Bad. We are a high wage economy, wages should go down /s.

    21. no_fooling on

      What a dumb system where wages increases is somehow “a headache” record profits isn’t a headache

    22. BeautyAndTheDekes on

      Y’all are getting wage increases?

      Joking aside, it honestly makes me annoyed that after so many years of pay stagnation, increases in incomes are being reported as negative news. Probably because it affects the bottom line of those who own the papers.

    23. AdmiralThunderCunt on

      I’m no economist but I think the concern is not wage growth in itself but the spike of wage growth, as that can drive a spike of inflation and potentially trigger another volatile wage vs inflation spiral.

      Also if inflation tracks that wage growth spike then anyone who wasn’t part of the spike experiences a real terms wage cut – but suppose that may always be the case? Ifk

    24. SausageyPie on

      Quick, quick, Bank of England!!… The paupers might actually be getting paid! … Better import some more cheap labor before this gets out of hand!

    25. VariousPreference0 on

      Not mine. Working for a privately owned IT company, no pay rise for last two years, no pay rise expected this year.

      “Tough times, tough trading conditions, NI increase etc”.

      Company still makes a profit of course.

    27. Go_Nadds on

      Why is that a shock when minimum wages keeps being increased by 5%+

      Wage stagnation has led to far too many people paid around this level so their only wage increases are from NMW being increased.

      I would wager that those on a bit more than NMW are not seeing 5.6% wage growth without hopping jobs.

    29. dpr60 on

      I’m not getting 5.6%, I’ve got a real terms wage cut. And even then, 5.6% of nothing is still nothing for the 70% of us who are actually getting nothing, and paying 10% more for essentials. Fuck me, isn’t there a better way to measure wage increases?

    30. Aggressive-Bed597 on

      Interest rates are priced into absolutely every good and service. Cutting interest rates would do a great deal to reduce overheads for absolutely everyone, so people would be less inclined to push for higher wages. The government wouldn’t need to raise taxes so high because the interest on debt would be lower.

      Just like the BOE took too long to increase interest rates, they’re taking wat too long to cut them.

    31. SpawnOfTheBeast on

      I think it’s just time they accepted an inflationary target of 2.5 or 3% is more acceptable, given the current state of the world economy

    33. kuro68k on

      Still way down on where we would have been, if not for austerity and Brexit. Still a real terms decrease compared to 2008 for most people.

    35. tarxvfBp on

      Everyone seems to have forgotten that the largest strain on household budgets is energy bills. To many they are like a 2nd mortgage payment. These have hoovered up much of the money people used to spend on fun and experiences. Hospitality.

      With this background of course people yearn for how things used to be.

    36. whitstableboy on

      Hmm, someone I think like the headline should be that a Labour govt is proving to be good for wage growth. Instead, it’s spun that tsk tsk, we’re all earning too much and we’re going to tank the economy. Rightwing press.

    38. rob3rtisgod on

      You don’t need to raise Inflation, it’s isn’t needed, just manufactured to make more profits.

    39. ManBearPigRoar on

      Maybe those whose growth in wages have outstripped everyone elses for the last three decades should voluntarily take a cut or pay freeze to help out eh?

    41. jib_reddit on

      Probably as most people with a mortgage have seen thier repayments go from £900 a month to £1,450 (and rents have often gone up more) because of intrest rates and they will be poor as dirt if they don’t fight for a pay rise.

    42. Calabitale on

      Its funny how wage growth is such a problem now, when it wasn’t in the 1940s, 50s, 60, even the first half of the 70s. Its also not much of a problem in other country’s like France, Sweden, the USA, Netherlands and probably 100 more countries. The wages in plenty of countries have been growing above inflation for years, but as we know they’ve all collapsed disastrously. We really are especially one of the stupidest countries. And I know I’m going to get some smart seeming response from some neo liberal fascist, but I’m just going to ignore because you can’t argue with a religion.

    43. Thevanillafalcon on

      Isn’t it funny how when we speak about the economy as soon as they mention working people’s wages going up it’s going to create economic turmoil but the second you suggest taxing the rich more you get a big spiel about how they’ll all just leave