UK unemployment rate unexpectedly down from July to September

According to the report from Office for National Statistics, the UK unemployment rate was estimated at 3.8% from July to September; 0.2 percentage points lower than a year earlier and 0.1 percentage points lower than last quarter. Unemployment was expected to remain at 3.9%.

The UK employment rate was estimated at 76.0%; 0.5 percentage points higher than a year earlier but 0.1 percentage points lower than last quarter. The UK economic inactivity rate was estimated at 20.8%; 0.3 percentage points lower than a year earlier but 0.1 percentage points higher than last quarter.

Estimated annual growth in average weekly earnings for employees in Great Britain was 3.6% for both total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses). Economists had expected a 3.8% increase. In real terms (after adjusting for inflation), annual growth in total pay is estimated to be 1.8% and annual growth in regular pay is estimated to be 1.7%.

For August to October 2019, there were an estimated 800,000 vacancies in the UK, 18,000 fewer than for the three months to July 2019 (this is the ninth consecutive fall on the previous three months) and 53,000 fewer than a year earlier (this is the fifth consecutive annual fall).