Kevin Brown, savings expert at Scottish Friendly, has commented on this morning's labour market overview from the ONS

“Even though cooling wage growth is exactly what the Bank of England will have wanted to see in today’s figures, the chances of a rate cut in February is unlikely.

“The BoE is nervous about stoking inflation, so it won’t risk doing anything that adds to price pressures. Add to this the trade tensions that have resurfaced in the past few days it’s likely that the BoE will want to continue to proceed cautiously.

“While we still believe it is more likely than not that the BoE will cut rates two more times this year, today’s data may have delayed the arrival of those cuts slightly. It may well be that we have to wait until the end of Spring for rates to fall again, unless we see another sharp fall in inflation.

“For mortgage borrowers, very little has changed in the short term. But savers should see this as an opportunity to shop around and ensure their cash is working as hard as possible because when the BoE does cuts rates, it won’t be long before savings rates come down.

“For those with longer-term horizons who want the potential for higher returns, it may also be worth considering investing – particularly as inflation remains above the BoE’s target and continues to erode the real value of cash over time.”