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These 5 charts show the state of pay and employment in Britain

These 5 charts show the state of pay and employment in Britain

The number of people moving jobs voluntarily is rising steadily

This is the chart to watch to see if the UK's seven-year decline in unemployment is coming to an end.

The above chart shows the unemployment rate for traditionally marginalised social groups, whose employment statistics tend to move slightly ahead of the majority of the UK.

If unemployment among the young, single parent, and BAME workers is increasing, the rest of the labour market will likely follow suit soon after.

"Any indication that unemployment was on the rise would first be apparent in data on groups more likely to find themselves out of work in a downturn," the Resolution Foundation notes.

"Figure 2 charts the unemployment rates for those aged 18-24, ethnic minorities, single parents and those with low qualifications. The evidence is that most groups continued to experience sustained falls in unemployment until the latest quarter (when unemployment overall ticked up)."

"However the unemployment rate for younger workers has plateaued, or risen, since Q1 2017. This group, and the others, are worth keeping an eye on for an early sign of any future labour market trouble."

London remains the place to go for workers looking for a pay rise.

Workers moving to the capital get an average salary bump of more than 17% — although London living costs are obviously far higher than the rest of the country.

"The evidence is that those that move region and employer earn the highest pay rises, although the returns differ by region. Interestingly the variation in returns and the difference between the average return earned and the return to moving to London have both risen in the post-crisis period," the report notes.

The number of people moving jobs — often a sign of dynamism in the job market — is falling

"Although the UK labour market appears tight, measures of labour market dynamism are not as perky," the report notes.

"While the share of people who move region for work is low (around 0.5 per cent of employees per annum or 100,000 people) it is a broader sign of labour market dynamism and those moving region tend to earn the highest pay rises."

The Resolution Foundation's final chart is somewhat bearish.

"Historically the pay rises enjoyed by those moving region have been far in excess of other job-movers, however this is increasingly less the case," it says.

"While the (nominal) pay rise for those moving jobs is back at pre-crisis levels (at around 6-7 per cent), the returns to moving jobs and region are down compared to the pre-crisis period."