Gap between wages and inflation narrows in August, as UK unemployment rate dips to 4%

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The growth in employee annual earnings in Great Britain has fallen below 5% for the first time in more than two years, closing the gap between wages and inflation and increasing the likelihood of a further cut to interest rates.

Staff pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 4.9% in the three months to August compared with the same period a year earlier, down from 5.1% in the three months to July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).