There was mixed economic news on jobs and wages for the UK Government this morning.
Continuing recovery in the labour market was reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but other new figures revealed that wage growth is failing to keep up with the high cost of living.
The last quarter of 2022 saw a year-on-year increase in those in work and a fall in those without jobs.
The UK employment rate rose by 0.9% to 75.5%, while unemployment dropped by 1.2% to 4.1%.
The Scottish rate for those in work was up by 0.8% to 74.1%, while those without jobs was down by 0.5% to 4.1%.
The ONS also said there had been a 108,000 increase in payrolled employees in the UK in January to a record 29.5million.
The number of job vacancies from November to January rose to a new record of 1,298,400.
Growth in average total pay (including bonuses) was 4.3% and growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 3.7% among employees in the final quarter of last year.
But in real terms (adjusted for inflation), total and regular pay fell on the year at 0.1% for total pay and by 0.8% for regular pay.
All eyes will now be on latest Consumer Price Inflation figures for January from the ONS tomorrow.
Meanwhile, fuel prices have hit a new record high at the pump across the UK.
The AA says petrol has reached 148.02p a litre, while diesel is at 151.57p a litre.
And there is unlikely to be any financial respite for drivers in the short term, as the oil price remains well above the $90 a barrel mark amid predictions it could reach $125 in the weeks ahead.
The April contract for Brent crude was at $95.58 a barrel this morning, while the March contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $94.52.
Reuters says that both benchmarks hit their highest since September 2014 on Monday, with Brent touching $96.78 and WTI reaching $95.82. The prices fell back slightly later as investors took profits.
Russia is one of the world's largest oil and gas producers, and fears it could invade Ukraine have driven a rally in oil towards $100 per barrel.
Prices have already risen by more than 30% in less than three months.
Meanwhile, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol urged OPEC+ to close the gap between words and its actions.
Shortfalls in OPEC+ production and spare capacity concerns are likely to keep the oil market tight and prices could hit $125 a barrel as early as the second quarter of this year, JP Morgan Global Equity Research said.
The UK's top share index, the FTSE 100, made a poor start to the week on Monday, closing down 1.69%. Shortly after the market opened this morning, it was in the red by nine points at 7,522.
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Companies reporting today
Finals: Glencore, Plus500
Other update:
ONS - unemployment figures