London, Sep 10 (IANS): The United Kingdom's (UK) wage growth continued to slow in the three months to July, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday.

According to the ONS, annual growth in average regular earnings, excluding bonuses, was 5.1 per cent, and growth was last lower than this in April to June 2022, when it was 4.7 per cent.

Data showed that total earnings, including bonuses, grew at an annual rate of 4.0 per cent.

"Growth in total pay slowed markedly again as one-off payments made to many public sector workers in June and July last year continue to affect the figures. Basic pay growth also continued to slow, though less sharply," said ONS Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown.=

The latest data also showed that the UK employment rate stood at 74.8 per cent in May to July, while the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.1 per cent, Xinhua news agency reported.

In June to August, the number of vacancies across the country decreased to 857,000. Vacancies decreased on the quarter for the 26th consecutive period but are still above pre-pandemic levels.

"There are some further signs of loosening in the jobs market as vacancies continue to fall and wage growth slows," said Jane Gratton, Deputy Director of Public Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce.

But, she noted that pay continues to outpace inflation by some margin and high levels of economic inactivity mean recruitment difficulties are likely to persist.