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Britain’s jobless rate has surged to its highest level for more than four-and-a-half years and wage growth has slowed further as the labour market continues to weaken, according to official figures.

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed a worse-than-expected rise in the rate of unemployment, to 5% in the three months to September, up from 4.8% in the three months to August and the highest level since early 2021.

This was more than the 4.9% expected by most analysts, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The ONS said average regular wage gro

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