Workers in the public sector secured pay rises of 5.6pc in the first three months of the year – taking their pay growth to its highest level since 2003.
It comes as 556,000 working days lost to strikes in March, up from 332,000 in February, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The rate of UK unemployment rose to 3.9pc in the three months to March from 3.8pc in the previous three months.
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What happened overnight
Asian shares were mostly higher even though the latest data showed China’s economy is weaker than expected, with domestic demand failing to bounce back as much as hoped for after the pandemic.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index surged 0.9pc to 29,899.83 continuing a climb toward its highest level since the early 1990s helped by strong corporate earnings and signs that inflationary pressures might be easing.
Benchmarks also advanced in Hong Kong and Seoul but fell in Shanghai and Sydney.
China’s industrial output rose 5.6pc year-on-year in April while investment crept up 4.7pc from the year before in January-April.
But those increases also reflected a big gap from the slow activity at the height of China’s zero-Covid restrictions, which Beijing abandoned late in 2022.
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.4pc to 20,044.72, while the Shanghai Composite index was nearly unchanged, at 3,311.06.
In Seoul, the Kospi rose 0.3pc to 2,485.58, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.2pc to 7,251.20.
Wall Street stocks ended with modest gains on Monday after manufacturing data raised concerns about a slowing US economy that could help bring down inflation amid ongoing debt ceiling negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.1pc at 33,348.60, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.4pc to 4,136.28.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.7pc to 12,365.21 following a rise in Meta shares.
Benchmark 10-year Treasuries fell in price to yield of 3.496pc, from 3.463pc late on Friday.
