Wages in the UK increased by 5.9% over the three months leading to February, while unemployment remained steady at 4.4%. However, the number of employees on UK company payrolls dropped by 78,000 in March, marking the steepest decline since the peak of the Covid pandemic, following a revised decrease of 8,000 in February. These figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, coincide with concerns that budget measures proposed by Rachel Reeves could result in further job losses amid growing global uncertainty.