Breaking: UK April Unemployment Rate beats estimates with 3.9%, GBP/USD unfazed

UK May jobless claims changed +528.9K vs +370K expected.
The UK wages excluding bonuses rose by 1.7% YoY vs. +1.9% expected.
The unemployment rate in the UK steadied at 3.9% in April.

FXStreet Team FXStreet

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday, the UK’s official jobless rate remained unchanged from the previous 3.9% in April, while the claimant count change showed a much bigger-than-expected increase last month.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits rose by 528.9K in May, against expectations +370K and +1032.7K (revised down from +856.5K) seen previously. The claimant count rate jumped to 7.8% vs. 5.8% last.

The UK’s average weekly Earnings, excluding bonuses, arrived at +1.7% 3Mo/YoY in April versus +2.7% last and +1.9% expected while the gauge including bonuses came in at +1.0% 3Mo/YoY in April versus +2.4% previous and +1.4% expected.

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).

GBP/USD reaction

Mixed UK jobs data failed to impress the GBP further, as GBP/USD held onto its recovery gains around 1.2665 region. The spot hit a fresh four-day high at 1.2687 in the last hour.

GBP/USD levels to watch

GBP/USD

Overview
Today last price	1.2666
Today Daily Change	0.0062
Today Daily Change %	0.49
Today daily open	1.2605

Trends
Daily SMA20	1.2458
Daily SMA50	1.2419
Daily SMA100	1.2535
Daily SMA200	1.2691

Levels
Previous Daily High	1.2607
Previous Daily Low	1.2455
Previous Weekly High	1.2813
Previous Weekly Low	1.2474
Previous Monthly High	1.2601
Previous Monthly Low	1.2076
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	1.2549
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	1.2513
Daily Pivot Point S1	1.2504
Daily Pivot Point S2	1.2403
Daily Pivot Point S3	1.2352
Daily Pivot Point R1	1.2657
Daily Pivot Point R2	1.2708
Daily Pivot Point R3	1.2809

Author

FXStreet Team

FXStreet

Composed of a group of economic journalists and FX experts, the FXStreet content team produces and oversees all content published on FXStreet. It provides a purely journalistic approach to the Forex market.

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