UK jobs market was in a fragile state – even before Iran war threatened recovery

Weak wage growth suggests UK workers are already likely to have been feeling the pinch. Photograph: Lauren Hurley/PA

Despite a surprise fall in the unemployment rate, the latest jobs data show the labour market in a fragile state, even before the Iran war threatened to derail the UK’s nascent economic recovery.

At 4.9% in the three months to February, the unemployment rate was down from 5.2% in the previous three months, according to the Office for National Statistics.