GBP/USD holds above 1.40 after UK jobless rate beats estimates with 4.9% in February
|- UK claimant count change arrived at +10.1K in March.
- The unemployment rate in the UK dropped to 4.9% in March.
- The UK wages excluding bonuses rose by 4.4% YoY vs. 4.2% expected.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday, the UK’s official jobless rate eased further to 4.9% in February vs. the previous 5.0% and 5.1% expected while the claimant count change showed a minor rise last month.
The number of people claiming jobless benefits showed an increase of 10.1K in March when compared to +86.6K seen previously. The claimant count rate came in at 7.3% vs. 7.3% last.
The UK’s average weekly Earnings, excluding bonuses, arrived at +4.4% 3Mo/YoY in Feb versus +4.2% last and +4.2% expected while the gauge including bonuses came in at +4.5% 3Mo/YoY in Jan versus +4.8% previous and +4.8% expected.
Key points (via ONS)
The latest figures suggest that the jobs market has been broadly stable in recent months.
After a few months of increases, there was a small monthly decrease in the number of payrolled employees in March 2021.
The number of job vacancies in January to March 2021 fell by nearly 23% on the year.
Growth in the number of vacancies has slowed this quarter
56,000 fewer people were in payrolled employment in March 2021 when compared with February 2021.
Annual growth in average employee pay continued to strengthen.
The UK employment rate was estimated at 75.1%, 1.4 percentage points lower than a year earlier.
GBP/USD reaction
GBP/USD keeps the upbeat momentum intact above 1.4000 amid mixed UK labor market report.
The spot was last seen trading at 1.4003, up 0.15% on the day, courtesy of the relentless slide in the US dollar.
The pound also remains underpinned by the expectations of strong UK economic indicators, as the country re-opened after three months of covid-induced lockdowns. Higher vaccination rates in the Kingdom also remain supportive of the recent rally in the cable.
About UK jobs
The UK Average Earnings released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is a key short-term indicator of how levels of pay are changing within the UK economy. Generally speaking, the positive earnings growth anticipates positive (or bullish) for the GBP, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).
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