UK workers pay rises at record rate

British workers’ pay is on the up.

Official data from the UK’s Office of National Statistics, shows total wages grew more than expected to hit its fastest rate in nearly four years in the three months to April, a latest sign of a recovery in living standards.

Total average weekly earnings in the same period, including bonuses, rose by 2.7 percent compared with a year earlier; that’s an increase from 2.3 percent year-on-year growth in the three months to March.

The Bank of England is keeping a close eye on wages as it considers when to start raising interest rates from their record low of 0.5 percent.