UK ILO Unemployment Rate rises to 3.8% in April vs. 3.6% expected

The Unemployment Rate in the UK rose to 3.8% in April.
UK Claimant Count Change arrived at -19.7K in May.
The UK wages excluding bonuses rose by 4.2% YoY in April vs. 4.0% expected.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday, the UK’s official jobless rate rose to 3.8% in April vs. the previous 3.7% and 3.6% expected while the claimant count change showed a smaller than the expected drop last month.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits fell by 19.7K in May when compared to -42.5K expectations and -65.5K booked previously.

The UK’s average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, arrived at +4.2% 3Mo/YoY in April versus +4.2% last and +4.0% expected while the gauge including bonuses came in at +6.8% 3Mo/YoY in April versus +7.0% previous and +7.6% expected.

Key points (via ONS)

Payrolled employment increased by 90,000 employees (0.3%) in May 2022 when compared with April 2022, though this should be treated as a provisional estimate and is likely to be revised when more data is received next month.

UK vacancies rose to new record of 1.3 million in three months to May.

UK real total pay, using CPIH measure of inflation, rose by 0.4% in three months to April.

GBP/USD reaction

GBP/USD is fading its rebound amid the mixed UK employment data.

The spot was last seen trading at 1.2182, up 0.37% on the day, having briefly recaptured 1.2200 just ahead of the data release.

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).

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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