UK job vacancies fell for the first time since August 2020 as real wages dropped at the sharpest pace on record, indicating a tightening inflation squeeze on consumers and businesses, Bloomberg News reported. The number of jobs employers are seeking to fill fell by 19,800 to 1.27 million in the quarter through July, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday. Pay excluding bonuses and adjusted for inflation fell by 3% in the three months through June, the most since records began in 2001. The figures add to evidence the economy may be slowing under the weight of inflation at a 40-year high. The Bank of England is raising interest rates to prevent a wage-price spiral and expects a recession will lift unemployment to 6% over the next three years from 3.8% in the most recent month. Employment increased by 160,000 in the second quarter, 46% less than the three months through May. The wage figures using the Consumer Prices Index measure instead of CPIH showed a 4.1% drop, also a record decline.
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