UK headline average earnings growth remained steady in November asexpected even though the figure for the single month picked up due tohigher wages in the manufacturing and public sectors, official figuresshowed Wednesday. The headline rate of average earnings growthremained static at 4.2% in the three months to November. But earningsgrowth for the month of November alone rose to 4.4% from 4.1% inOctober. An ONS spokesman attributed the rise to an acceleration in wagegrowth in the manufacturing and public sectors.He said that pay growth inthe public sector had picked up because of a change in the timing ofsettlements this year as a payment from the central government hadcome earlier than it did the year before. The spokesman admitted thatthere could be a corresponding negative effect in the coming months.Meanwhile, pay growth in the manufacturing sector had picked upbecause of higher overtime payments in the run-up to Christmas than ayear earlier. Bonuses are calculated to have depressed the non-seasonally adjusted November earnings growth rate of 4.2% by 0.4percentage points compared with a downward effect of 0.5 percentagepoints in October. Earnings growth in the manufacturing sector rose to4.5% from 4.3% in October while pay growth in services remained steadyat 4.2%. Earnings growth in the public sector rose to 3.6% from 3.4% inOctober.