LONDON: British workers' earnings grew more than inflation again in October, giving some help to Prime Minister David Cameron to tackle criticism of a cost-of-living crisis ahead of national elections in May.
Official data also showed the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.0 percent in the three months to October, matching its lowest level in six years but slightly above a forecast of 5.9 percent in a Reuters poll.
A fall of 63,000 unemployed people was the smallest decline since the three months to September 2013.
As well as Britain's political leaders, the Bank of England is keeping a close eye on labour costs as it considers when to start raising interest rates.
Pay for workers in Britain has only recently shown signs of picking up after lagging inflation for most of the period since the financial crisis, putting the cost of living at the heart of the opposition Labour party's message to voters.
The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that in the month of October alone, average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses rose 1.8 percent compared with the same month last year, the same rate as in September.
Inflation in October stood at 1.3 percent. Data released on Tuesday showed the consumer price index fell to 1.0 percent in November, its lowest level in more than 12 years.
The ONS said the last time regular pay exceeded inflation, before September, was in September 2009.
Including bonuses, pay grew by 1.8 percent in the month of October, the ONS said.
In the August-October period, total average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 1.6 percent, picking up speed from 1.2 percent in the three months to September.
Total pay, including bonuses, also gathered speed to rise 1.4 percent, compared with a gain of 1.0 percent in the July-September period.
Economists taking part in a Reuters poll had expected earnings in the three months to October to rise by 1.5 percent when excluding bonuses and by 1.2 percent on a total basis.
The ONS said the number of people in employment rose by 115,000 to 30.796 million in the three months through October.
Employment growth has slowed since hitting a record of just over 300,000 in the February-April period of this year.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the month of November fell by 26,900, a bigger fall than economists' forecasts for a fall of 20,000, compared with a revised fall of 25,100 in October.
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