Pay growth has picked up for the first time in more than a year, according to the latest official figures.
Regular pay, which excludes bonuses, grew at a faster-than-expected annual pace of 5.2% between August and October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Pay is continuing to increase faster than the price of goods, with earnings outstripped inflation by 3%.
The number of job vacancies in the UK fell again, but still remains above pre-pandemic levels.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%, although there are questions over the reliability of the jobs figures from the ONS due to issues with how it gathers the data.
“After slowing steadily for over a year, growth in pay excluding bonuses increased slightly in the latest period driven by stronger growth in private sector pay,” said Liz McKeown, director of statistics at the ONS.
Private sector pay grew at an annual pace of 5.4%, the ONS said.
The stronger-than-predicted rise in wages means the Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates unchanged when it meets later this week.
However, there are signs that the jobs market is continuing to weaken, with the number of job vacancies falling by 31,000 to 818,000 in the September-to-November period.
The ONS also said that provisional data indicated that the number of staff on payrolls fell by 35,000 in November 2024.
Many firms have argued that the increase in employers National Insurance Contributions announced in the Budget will hit jobs.
A separate survey released on Monday indicated that private sector employment December had fallen at the fastest rate for nearly four years.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “Today’s figures are a stark reminder of the work that needs to be done.
“To get Britain growing again, we need to get Britain working again – so people have good jobs which pay decent wages and offer the chance to progress.”
