UK Unemployment Rate stays at 4.4% in the quarter to February as expected
The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate held steady at 4.4% in the three months to February, data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Thursday. The market forecast was for a 4.4% reading in the reported period.
Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits increased by 18.7K in February, compared with a revised gain of 16.5K in January, bettering the expected 30.3K readout.
The Employment Change data for February came in at 205K versus 144K in January.
Meanwhile, Average Earnings, excluding Bonus, in the UK rose 5.9% three months year-over-year (3M YoY) in February versus a revised 5.8% growth booked previously. Markets expected a 6% print.
Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings, including Bonus, advanced 5.6% in the same period after accelerating by a revised 5.6% in the quarter through February. The data surpassed the estimate of 5.7%.
Source : Fxstreet
