More job vacancies than workers for the first time on record

Good morning. 

There are now fewer unemployed people than job vacancies in the UK for the first time ever, highlighting the crisis gripping the labour market as the cost-of-living crisis deepens.

The unemployment rate dropped to 3.7pc in the first three months of the year – below economists’ forecasts and its lowest since 1974.

But hundreds of thousands of people dropped out of the workforce during the pandemic, meaning companies are struggling to fill roles. They may offer higher wages to attract talent, which in turn could fuel inflation.

That said, adjusted for inflation, average earnings excluding bonuses dropped 1.9pc from a year earlier – the biggest fall since 2013 – as the squeeze on living standards deepens.

5 things to start your day 

1) Bank of England fights to save its reputation – and the economy  Tory assault on Threadneedle Street comes as inflation exposes chinks in its armour 

2) Elon Musk suggests he could pay a lower price for Twitter  Concerns mount as chief Parag Agrawal defends platform’s strategy against bots 

3) ‘Serious breach’ piles more pressure on embattled SFO  High Court ruling over mining firm investigation rocks fraud investigators 

4) British telecoms giants accused of plotting to destroy Phones4U  Bosses at EE, Vodafone and O2 had “nakedly anti-competitive” conversations with each other, London’s High Court hears

5) Treasury plots carbon tax raid on imports  Measure part of efforts to prevent British jobs going abroad to countries more tolerant of emissions

What happened overnight 

Hong Kong stocks opened higher on Tuesday despite Wall Street stocks finishing mostly down on weak Chinese economic data.

The Hang Seng Index climbed 1.3pc. The Shanghai Composite Index opened down 0.09pc, while the mainland’s second exchange, the Shenzhen Composite Index, sank 0.4pc.

Tokyo shares rose in morning trade, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index opening in negative territory but quickly climbing 0.2pc. 

Coming up today

• Corporate: C&C Group, DCC, Land Securities, Vodafone (full-year results); Britvic, Imperial Brands, Tritax EuroBox (interims); TI Fluid Systems (trading update)
• Economics: GDP (EU), unemployment rate (UK), claimant count change (UK), retail sales (US)