0742 GMT - While U.K. wage growth remains too high, U.S. tariffs may mean the Bank of England may worry less about inflation from pay growth and more about downside risks to activity, Capital Economics economist Ashley Webb says in a note. Average earnings growth excluding bonuses rose to 5.9% in February, while the unemployment rate stayed at 4.4%. However, the payroll data for March provides some tentative evidence that businesses started to respond to rises in business taxes and minimum wage from this month by reducing headcount, Webb says. Should the U.S. tariffs chaos becomes a big drag on firms' hiring intentions, pay growth could start to fade more markedly, with the BOE then cutting rates faster than expected, he says. (edward.frankl@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2025 03:42 ET (07:42 GMT)
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