UK Unemployment Rate ticks up to 4.4% in quarter to November vs. 4.3% expected
- The UK Unemployment Rate rose to 4.4% in three months to November.
- The Claimant Count Change for Britain arrived at 0.7K in December.
- GBP/USD drops further toward 1.2250 after mixed UK employment data.
The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate edged higher to 4.4% in the three months to November, the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday. The reading missed the expectations of 4.3% in the reported period.
Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits increased by only 0.7K in December, compared with a revised drop of 25.1K in November, beating the expected 10.3K figure.
The Employment Change data for November came in at 35K versus October’s 173K.
Meanwhile, Average Earnings, excluding Bonus, in the UK increased by 5.6% 3M YoY in November versus a 5.2% growth in October. Markets estimated a 5.5% print.
Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings, including Bonus, rose 5.6% in the same period after growing by 5.2% in the quarter through October. The data met the expected 5.6% growth.
GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report
GBP/USD meets fresh supply on the release of the UK employment data. The pair is trading 0.49% lower on the day at 1.2265, 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 | 0.46% | 0.52% | -0.06% | 0.97% | 0.65% | 0.67% | 0.26% | |
| EUR | -0.46% | 0.07% | -0.48% | 0.51% | 0.19% | 0.22% | -0.20% | |
| GBP | -0.52% | -0.07% | -0.57% | 0.44% | 0.12% | 0.15% | -0.26% | |
| JPY | 0.06% | 0.48% | 0.57% | 1.00% | 0.67% | 0.69% | 0.29% | |
| CAD | -0.97% | -0.51% | -0.44% | -1.00% | -0.32% | -0.29% | -0.70% | |
| AUD | -0.65% | -0.19% | -0.12% | -0.67% | 0.32% | 0.02% | -0.38% | |
| NZD | -0.67% | -0.22% | -0.15% | -0.69% | 0.29% | -0.02% | -0.42% | |
| CHF | -0.26% | 0.20% | 0.26% | -0.29% | 0.70% | 0.38% | 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.
