UK Unemployment Rate drops to 4.0% in quarter to August vs. 4.1% expected
- The UK Unemployment Rate eases to 4.0% in three months to August.
- The Claimant Count Change for Britain stood at 27.9K in September.
- GBP/USD keeps range around 1.3050 after mixed UK employment data.
The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate eased to 4.0% in the three months to August, following July’s 4.1% reading, the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday. The market forecast was 4.1% in the reported period.
Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits increased by 27.9K in September, compared with a gain of 23.7K in August, missing the expected 20.2K print.
The Employment Change data for August arrived at 373K, compared to 265k reported in July.
Meanwhile, Average Earnings excluding Bonus in the UK rose 4.9% 3M YoY in August versus a 5.1% growth seen in July. The reading aligned with the expectations of a 4.9% acceleration.
Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings including Bonus also increased by 3.8% in the same period after a 4.0% growth seen in the quarter through July. The market expectation was for +3.8%.
Commenting on the UK employment report, Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP said, “to get Britain growing again we need to get Britain working again. Millions of people are locked out of work due to long term sickness. This is not good for them, for our economy or for the taxpayer.”
“That’s why we will bring forward the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation – overhauling jobcentres, delivering a Youth guarantee so every young person is learning or earning, and new work, health and skills plans to tackle inactivity – unlocking opportunity and potential in every area of the country,” Liz added.
GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report
GBP/USD keeps its range near 1.3050 in reaction to the mixed UK employment data. The pair is trading 0.14% lower on the day at 1.3040, as of writing.
British Pound PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the weakest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.19% | 0.14% | -0.13% | 0.10% | 0.25% | 0.30% | -0.04% | |
| EUR | -0.19% | -0.05% | -0.34% | -0.11% | 0.07% | 0.10% | -0.23% | |
| GBP | -0.14% | 0.05% | -0.27% | -0.04% | 0.12% | 0.15% | -0.11% | |
| JPY | 0.13% | 0.34% | 0.27% | 0.24% | 0.38% | 0.43% | 0.14% | |
| CAD | -0.10% | 0.11% | 0.04% | -0.24% | 0.14% | 0.21% | -0.07% | |
| AUD | -0.25% | -0.07% | -0.12% | -0.38% | -0.14% | 0.05% | -0.23% | |
| NZD | -0.30% | -0.10% | -0.15% | -0.43% | -0.21% | -0.05% | -0.28% | |
| CHF | 0.04% | 0.23% | 0.11% | -0.14% | 0.07% | 0.23% | 0.28% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).
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.
