Unemployment falls, but wages refuse to rise

Outlook We should cheer yesterday's unemployment numbers. The economic recovery is clearly under way and creating work – albeit mostly of the part-time or self-employed variety.

But, as the Bank of England's Governor, Mark Carney, stressed yesterday, unlike France and others on the Continent, GDP is still not back to pre-crisis levels.

That's reflected in the fact that average wage growth remain dismally low – just 1.4 per cent. Pay will stay that way until productivity improves, and that won't happen until businesses feel confident enough to invest in better kit.

The economic headlines are improving, but with just a year to go until the general election, voters are still not feeling any better off.