UK Unemployment Rate steadies at 4.4% in quarter to May, as expected
- The UK Unemployment Rate held steady at 4.4% in three months to May.
- The Claimant Count Change for Britain arrived at 32.3K in June.
- GBP/USD trades near 1.3000 after mixed UK employment data.
The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate held steady at 4.4% in the three months to May after reporting 4.4% in the previous period, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday. The market consensus was for a 4.4% reading.
Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits increased by 32.3K in June, compared with a revised gain of 51.9K in May, missing the expected 23.4K print.
The Employment Change data for May came in at 19K, compared to April’s -140K.
Meanwhile, Average Earnings excluding Bonus in the UK rose 5.7% 3M YoY in May versus a 6.0 % growth registered in April. The reading matched the expectations of a 5.7% increment.
Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings including Bonus also increased by 5.7% in the same period, having accelerated 5.9% quarter through April and aligned with the expected raise of 5.7%.
Commenting on the UK employment report, Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall MP said, “spiraling economic inactivity, rising unemployment and the UK standing alone as the only G7 country where the employment rate is still not back to pre-pandemic levels. This is a truly dire inheritance which the Government is determined to tackle.”
“Behind these statistics are real people, who have for too long been ignored and denied the support they need to get into work and get on at work. It’s time for change - in every corner of the country,” Kendall added.
GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report
GBP/USD sees a little reaction to the mixed UK employment data. The pair is trading flat on the day at 1.3000, 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 New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.03% | 0.00% | -0.05% | -0.01% | -0.10% | 0.17% | 0.09% | |
| EUR | -0.03% | -0.03% | -0.09% | -0.05% | -0.14% | 0.12% | 0.02% | |
| GBP | -0.01% | 0.03% | -0.06% | -0.05% | -0.11% | 0.16% | 0.07% | |
| JPY | 0.05% | 0.09% | 0.06% | 0.02% | -0.05% | 0.18% | 0.12% | |
| CAD | 0.01% | 0.05% | 0.05% | -0.02% | -0.08% | 0.17% | 0.09% | |
| AUD | 0.10% | 0.14% | 0.11% | 0.05% | 0.08% | 0.27% | 0.20% | |
| NZD | -0.17% | -0.12% | -0.16% | -0.18% | -0.17% | -0.27% | -0.09% | |
| CHF | -0.09% | -0.02% | -0.07% | -0.12% | -0.09% | -0.20% | 0.09% |
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.
