New data from the Office for National Statistics suggests the UK job market maybe cooling, with wages rising by an annual rate  of 5.7% in January, less than expected and down from 6.0% the month before. It's the first slowdown in more than a year. Taking into account inflation, wages actually decreased by 3.5% in January. There was also a 51,000 drop in the number of job vacancies to 1.2m, while the redundancy rate edged higher. The news comes days ahead of the Bank of England’s next policy meeting. High wage growth makes inflation more persistent therefore signs of a slowing labour market will determine how much further interest rates will rise. That said, the labour market remains relatively strong, with the unemployment rate of 3.7% lower than expected and still near 50-year lows.