|

UK Unemployment Rate steadies at 4.3% in quarter to October vs. 4.3% expected

  • The UK Unemployment Rate stayed unchanged at 4.3% in three months to October.
  • The Claimant Count Change for Britain arrived at 0.3K in November.
  • GBP/USD remains pressured toward 1.2650 after mixed UK employment data.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate stayed unchanged at 4.3% in the three months to October, the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday. The reading matched the market estimate of 4.3% in the reported period.

Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits climbed by only 0.3K in November, compared with a decrease of 10.9K in October, beating the expected 28.2K figure.

The Employment Change data for October came in at 173K versus September’s 253K.

Meanwhile, Average Earnings, excluding Bonus, in the UK grew by 5.2% 3M YoY in October versus a 4.9% raise in September. The market forecast was for a 5.0% increase.

Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings, including Bonus, advanced 5.2% in the same period after rising by 4.4% in the quarter through September. The data beat the estimated 4.6% growth.

GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report

GBP/USD picks up fresh bids on the release of the UK employment data. The pair is trading 0.09% higher on the day at 1.2690, 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 Australian Dollar.

 USDEURGBPJPYCADAUDNZDCHF
USD 0.06%-0.07%-0.03%0.08%0.28%0.23%0.16%
EUR-0.06% -0.13%-0.10%0.02%0.22%0.17%0.09%
GBP0.07%0.13% 0.06%0.15%0.34%0.30%0.23%
JPY0.03%0.10%-0.06% 0.10%0.30%0.24%0.19%
CAD-0.08%-0.02%-0.15%-0.10% 0.20%0.16%0.09%
AUD-0.28%-0.22%-0.34%-0.30%-0.20% -0.05%-0.13%
NZD-0.23%-0.17%-0.30%-0.24%-0.16%0.05% -0.07%
CHF-0.16%-0.09%-0.23%-0.19%-0.09%0.13%0.07% 

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

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.

More from Dhwani Mehta
Share:

Editor's Picks

AUD/USD consolidates above 0.6950 amid bullish USD

AUD/USD consolidates during the Asian session on Thursday, trading just above 0.6950 as traders await further developments surrounding the Middle East crisis. The Pentagon reportedly ordered readiness for potential strikes against Iran. This keeps the geopolitical risk premium in play, which, along with hawkish FOMC Minutes on Wednesday and elevated US bond yields, supports the bullish US Dollar and caps the currency pair.

USD/JPY slips below 158.00 as bulls turn cautious amid JPY intervention fears

USD/JPY retreats further from a one-and-a-half-week top, touched the previous day, and slid below 158.00 during the Asian session on Thursday amid speculation that authorities will step in to prop up the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar sits near an 18-month high, supported by Wednesday's hawkish FOMC Minutes and the risk of a further escalation of tensions in the Middle East. This might continue to act as a tailwind for the currency pair.

Gold hangs near two-month low; seems vulnerable around $4,100

Gold struggles to capitalize on the overnight bounce from a two-month low, trading with a mild negative bias around $4,100 during Thursday’s Asian session. Hawkish FOMC Minutes reaffirmed bets for at least one more rate hike by year-end. Adding to this, elevated US bond yields weigh on the non-yielding bullion. The US Dollar further benefits from geopolitical uncertainties and sits near an 18-month high, undermining the commodity.

Ethereum drops below $2,600 as Tom Lee says BitMine will end buying spree
Ethereum (ETH) treasury firm BitMine Immersion (BMNR) will halt its weekly accumulation of the top altcoin over the next few months. BitMine Chairman Thomas Lee, speaking at the Token2049 conference in Singapore, said that the company will stop buying when its stash reaches 5% of ETH's circulating supply. He noted that BitMine will reach that threshold if it acquires an additional 100,000 ETH.
The US 10-year just hit a 2002 high. Does it give the US Dollar its next leg?

In 2026, the US Dollar Index, which measures the Dollar against six major currencies, has risen on days when Federal Reserve rate expectations pushed Treasury yields up and barely moved on days when something else did. The last stretch of the 10-year yield's climb to its highest since 2002 was the second kind.

The UK 30-year gilt just hit a 1998 high. Is that good or bad for the British Pound?
The yield on the UK's 30-year government bond, or gilt, went through 6% on October 1 for the first time since early 1998, and on Monday the Pound was at its strongest against the Euro since June 2025. The gilt market's 28-year high is mostly someone else's. Since early May, the 30-year gilt yield has risen about 0.15 of a percentage point and the US 30-year about 0.7.