UK Unemployment Rate stays at 4.4% in quarter to December vs. 4.5% expected

• The UK Unemployment Rate held steady at 4.4% in three months to December.
• The Claimant Count Change for Britain came in at 22K in January.
• GBP/USD trims losses to regain 1.2600 after mixed UK employment data

The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate remained at 4.4% in the three months to December, the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday. The market forecast was for a 4.5% print in the reported period.

Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits climbed by 22K in January, compared with a revised drop of 15.1K in December, missing the estimated 10K figure.

The Employment Change data for December came in at 107K versus November’s 35K.

Meanwhile, Average Earnings, excluding Bonus, in the UK increased by 5.9% three months year-on-year (3M YoY) in December versus a 5.6% growth booked previously. Markets expected a 5.9% reading.

Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings, including Bonus, rose 5.9% in the same period after accelerating by 5.6% in the quarter through November. The data surpassed the market consensus of 5.9%.

GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report

GBP/USD finds fresh demand and trims losses on the release of the UK employment data. The pair is trading 0.09% lower on the day at 1.2613, as of writing.