--UK Feb headline avg earnings up annual 5.0%
--UK Feb headline avg earnings well above market forecasts
--ONS: UK Feb earnings up "almost entirely" on finance bonuses
--ONS: Delayed UK bonuses from Dec, Jan main factor in Feb jump
--UK Feb unadj earnings ex bonuses 4.1 pct pts, bonuses 1.9 pct pts
--UK adj Mar claimant count unemployment dn 5,500 from Feb
--UK Dec-Feb ILO unemployment 5.2% down vs Sep-Nov 5.3%
--UK Dec-Feb ILO unemployment down 42,000 on Sep-Nov
--UK Dec-Feb manufacturing unit labor costs dn 1.4% on yr
--UK Feb single month avg earnings up provisional 5.9% on yr

London, April 11 (BridgeNews) - A big jump in city bonuses pushed UK headline average earnings to an annual rate of 5.0% in February, well above the 4.4% forecast rise and January's rate of 4.5, according to figures published on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics. The figures were given a strong boost by timing effects, both from delayed bonuses from earlier in the year and from some March bonuses being brought forward. There was also another fall in unemployment and the number of people in work, defying any signs that a slowdown in the economy is easing labor market conditions.
* * * The ONS said these timing effects were the "biggest component" in the jump in February bonuses, although it stressed that February bonuses were also larger this year than last. Single month average earnings rose a seasonally-adjusted 5.9% in February, compared with 4.3% in January.
On an unadjusted basis, which allows bonus effects to be stripped out, single month earnings rose 6.0% on the year, with bonuses making up 1.9% of that total. The ex-bonus rise was 4.1%, up from January 3.8% but below December's 4.6%.
On a sectoral basis, the strongest earnings growth was recorded in private sector services, which incorporates the financial services sector. Headline earnings grew an annual 5.8%, compared with 4.8% in January. Public sector average earnings growth slowed to an annual rate of 3.5% from 3.8% the previous month.
Elsewhere, there were further signs the labor market is still tightening.
Claimant count unemployment fell 5,500 on the month in March to remain below a million, while ILO unemployment fell 42,000 on the quarter in the three months to February. Meanwhile, employment continued to grow healthily, with a new record for the number of people in employment of 28.088 million.
Manufacturing unit wage costs dropped 1.4% on the year in the three months to the end of February, while productivity growth rose to 6.0% on the year, mainly reflecting the ongoing fall in manufacturing employment.
Although the earnings figures will have come as an unwelcome shock to the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, the less rosy prospects for financial sector bonuses in the year ahead should dilute the inflationary implications.