UK ILO Unemployment Rate steadies at 3.7% in January vs. 3.8% expected

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The Unemployment Rate in the UK held steady at 3.7% in January.
UK Claimant Count Change came in at -11.2K in February.
The UK wages excluding bonuses eased to 6.5% YoY in January vs. 6.6% expected.

The latest data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday that the United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate came in at 3.7% in January vs. the 3.8% expected while the claimant count change showed a smaller-than-expected decline in the reported month.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits fell by 11.2K in February when compared to -12.4K expected and -30.3K booked previously.

The UK’s average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, arrived at 6.5% 3Mo/YoY in January versus 6.7% last and 6.6% expected while the gauge including bonuses stood at 5.7% 3Mo/YoY in January versus 6.0% previous and 5.7% expected.

Key points (via ONS)

In February 2023, 98,000 more people were in payrolled employment when compared with January 2023.

UK LFS employment +65k 3m/3m in 3 months to Jan.

UK February payrolls change 98k vs. 102k previous.

GBP/USD reaction

GBP/USD remains unfazed by the mixed UK employment data, keeping its range around 1.2170, as of writing. The pair is down 0.08% on the day.

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, 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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