UK Unemployment Rate drops to 4.2% in quarter to June vs. 4.5% expected
- The UK Unemployment Rate unexpectedly fell to 4.2% in three months to June.
- The Claimant Count Change for Britain arrived at 135K in July.
- GBP/USD jumps to test 1.2800 after mixed UK employment data.
The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate dropped to 4.2% in the three months to June after recording 4.4% in the previous period, the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday. The market expectation was for a 4.5% print.
Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits increased by 135K in July, compared with a revised gain of 32.3K in June, coming in below the expected 14.5K figure by a wide margin.
The Employment Change data for July arrived at 24K, as against June’s 16K.
Meanwhile, Average Earnings excluding Bonus in the UK rose 5.4% 3M YoY in June versus a 5.7% growth seen in May. The reading matched the expectations of a 4.6% acceleration.
Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings including Bonus also increased by 4.5% in the same period, having risen by 5.7% quarter through May.
Commenting on the UK employment report, Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP said, “this is yet more evidence of the dire inheritance we face, with millions of people denied the support they need to get work and get on at work, harming their opportunities and holding back growth.”
“This government will deliver the change the country is crying out for by making work pay, transforming skills, overhauling jobcentres and giving local areas the power they need to drive jobs and growth,” Kendall added.
GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report
GBP/USD picked up fresh bids in a knee-jerk reaction to the mixed UK employment data. The pair is trading 0.24% higher on the day at 1.2795, 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 strongest against the Japanese Yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.06% | -0.21% | 0.31% | -0.01% | -0.07% | 0.22% | 0.12% | |
| EUR | 0.06% | -0.16% | 0.37% | 0.01% | -0.03% | -0.22% | 0.18% | |
| GBP | 0.21% | 0.16% | 0.55% | 0.19% | 0.13% | -0.04% | 0.37% | |
| JPY | -0.31% | -0.37% | -0.55% | -0.36% | -0.39% | -0.59% | -0.17% | |
| CAD | 0.01% | -0.01% | -0.19% | 0.36% | -0.06% | -0.25% | 0.16% | |
| AUD | 0.07% | 0.03% | -0.13% | 0.39% | 0.06% | -0.17% | 0.24% | |
| NZD | -0.22% | 0.22% | 0.04% | 0.59% | 0.25% | 0.17% | 0.42% | |
| CHF | -0.12% | -0.18% | -0.37% | 0.17% | -0.16% | -0.24% | -0.42% |
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.
