What's going on?

Data out on Tuesday showed that UK job openings fell for the first time in almost two years last quarter.

What does this mean?

Even as the UK economy has faltered, the country�s jobs market has been holding up remarkably well. But the slowdown seems to finally be having an impact: there were just 160,000 more people in work last quarter than the quarter before � far fewer than the 256,000 economists were expecting. Likewise, the number of jobs employers were looking to fill fell by around 20,000, representing the first drop in the metric since the peak of the pandemic. And while regular wages were 4.7% higher than they were the same time last year, they actually fell by 3% when adjusted for inflation � the sharpest drop on record.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Stock up on some Frosted Flakes.
UK households are definitely feeling the squeeze: data out on Tuesday from consultancy Kantar showed that food price inflation has hit a level not seen since the financial crisis in 2008. In fact, the average spending on groceries is expected to be �533 ($641) higher this year than last. So Brits are increasingly switching to cheaper alternatives, which might be why sales of own-label ranges now make up a record share of all food spending (tweet this).

For you personally: Buy a house, sell your soul.
As if the above wasn�t making it hard enough to get on the housing ladder, UK home prices also hit a record high last month. But Perenna thinks it has the solution: the UK mortgage startup was granted a license this week to offer 50-year fixed rate mortgages. It�s determined to help young people live a life of freedom in a place they can call their own, even if it has to lock them into a half-century of debt to do it.