UK ILO Unemployment Rate unexpectedly drops to 3.6% in July

• The Unemployment Rate in the UK arrived at 3.6% in July.
• UK Claimant Count Change arrived at 6.3K in August.
• The UK wages excluding bonuses rose by 5.2% YoY in July vs. 5.0% expected.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday, the UK’s official jobless rate dropped to 3.6% in July vs. 3.8% expected while the claimant count change showed an unexpected increase in August.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits rose by 6.3K in August when compared to -10.5K booked previously and -9.2K expectations.

The UK’s average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, arrived at +5.2% 3Mo/YoY in July versus +4.7% last and +5.0% expected while the gauge including bonuses came in at +5.5% 3Mo/YoY in July versus +5.1% previous and +5.2% expected.

Key points (via ONS)

 GBP/USD reaction

GBP/USD finds a fresh boost on the mixed UK employment data, as it adds 0.20% to test 1.1700, as of writing.

About UK jobs

The UK Average Earnings released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is a key short-term indicator of how levels of pay are changing within the UK economy. Generally speaking, the positive earnings growth anticipates positive (or bullish) for the GBP, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).