DONALD TRUMP’S illegal war threatens to “derail” the stabilising of the jobs market, trade union leaders warned today as pay growth fell to its lowest point since 2020.

Latest figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today showed that the unemployment rate fell to 4.9 per cent from 5.2 per cent over the last three months — its lowest level since last summer.

But the number of workers on payroll remained “broadly flat in recent periods” and saw a decline of 74,000 over the year to February.

Youth unemployment rose to 14.3 per cent, with youth inactivity up to 31.1 per cent.

Nominal pay growth slowed to 3.6 per cent in the latest month, its lowest since November 2020, while real pay growth is 0.4 per cent against CPI inflation, down from 3.0 per cent in the same period last year.

Vacancies also plunged by 29,000 to 711,000 in the three months to March, the lowest level since April 2021.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Before Trump’s illegal war the jobs market was starting to stabilise — but now his reckless actions threaten to derail progress.

“The longer this war goes on, the greater the threat to households and firms.

“Ministers must keep doing everything they can to support workers, who are increasingly worried about their jobs and living standards.”

Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: “We cannot escape the effects of the war in the Middle East which are likely to feed through to prices and employment in the coming months.

“We will do everything we can to support the country through this period.”