Media Bites 13 May: consumer spending, pub sales, immigration and labour market

It’s a slightly quieter Tuesday in the newspaper world, but the nationals are leading the coverage with some unusually good news today.

As per the Financial Times, UK consumer spending grew strongly in April boosted by warmer weather and the late timing of Easter. New figures by the British Retail Consortium showed the value of retail sales increased at an annual rate of 7% in April, well above the 12-month average of 1.4%.

The Guardian also reported on new Barclays data that showed British households shrugged off anxiety over the effect of US tariffs as the warm weather and long Easter weekend helped bump consumer card spending in April by 4.5% compared with the same period last year.

The warm weather is also boosting pub sales, with Reuters reporting that British pub group Marston’s has swung to profit, helped by its cost-efficiency actions as well as higher food and beverage sales thanks to favourable weather.

The company said underlying pre-tax profit for the six months ended March 29 came to £19m, compared with a loss of £0.2m a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the UK labour market continues to face pressure, with The Times reporting that Labour’s new immigration reforms will “damage the economy”, according to warnings by business groups including Hospitality UK.

Keir Starmer’s plans to reduce immigration numbers are raising concerns “for the many employers already struggling to access the skills they need”, the Institute of Directors said, with the country urgently needed an overhaul of the “fundamentally flawed” approach to training.

The Daily Mail points out this comes at a time when unemployment rates have risen to 4.5% in the first three months of the year, up from 4.4% in the previous quarter and the highest in four years, new data from the Office for National Statistics showed. 

The Times also reported that wage growth in the UK has declined to its lowest level since November, as per ONS data this Tuesday, while unemployment rates grew in the three months to March – ahead of employment tax increases minimum wage rises.