CUTTING NHS waiting lists and youth training schemes will help the stagnating economy, the TUC said after official figures released today showed a fall in real wage growth.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that year on year regular wage growth had slowed to 5.4 per cent  — its lowest for more than two years — over the three months to June.

This was down from 5.7 per cent in the previous three months and meant workers saw an average increase of 2.4 per cent, taking inflation into account.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “Basic pay growth, while remaining relatively strong, continues to slow.

“Growth in total pay slowed markedly, with last year’s one-off NHS bonuses affecting the comparison.”

Resolution Foundation senior economist Hannah Slaughter said: “Workers’ pay packets continue to grow coming out of the cost-of-living crisis, but the recent strong real wage growth is running out of steam as productivity stagnates and the jobs market cools.

“While monetary policymakers may be less worried now about pay rises fuelling inflation, they should be concerned about the lack of reliable data on the wider state of the labour market.”

The data showed another decline in vacancy rates — by 26,000 to 884,000 for the three months to June — hinting at continued pressure in the jobs market.

There was some good news, however, as the rate of unemployment surprisingly dropped to 4.2 per cent over the period.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “The Conservatives left the economy in disarray.

“And workers are still suffering the consequences with a million people on zero-hour contracts, high unemployment, falling vacancies and huge numbers of people unable to work because of long-term sickness.

“The New Deal for Working People will give all workers the urgently needed right to a secure contract and it will help boost incomes across the economy.

“And by bringing down NHS waiting lists and delivering a youth guarantee, the government can make sure more people are either earning or learning and set the UK jobs market on a stronger path."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the figures show there is more to do in supporting people into employment, which will be part of her Budget later this year, “where I will be making difficult decisions on spending, welfare and tax to fix the foundations of our economy.”