UK ILO Unemployment Rate drops to 3.5% in August vs. 3.6% expected

• The Unemployment Rate in the UK arrived at 3.5% in August.
• UK Claimant Count Change came in at +25.5K in September.
• The UK wages excluding bonuses rose by 5.4% YoY in August vs. 5.3% expected.

The UK’s official jobless rate dropped to 3.5% in August vs. the 3.6% expected while the claimant count change showed an unexpected jump in the reported month, the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits climbed by 25.5K in September when compared to 6.3K booked previously and -11.4K expectations.

The UK’s average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, arrived at +5.4% 3Mo/YoY in August versus +5.3% last and +5.2% expected while the gauge including bonuses came in at +6.0% 3Mo/YoY in August versus +5.5% previous and +5.9% expected.

Key points (via ONS)

Payrolled employment increased by 69,000 employees (0.2%) in September 2022 when compared with august 2022, though this should be treated as a provisional estimate and is likely to be revised when more data are received next month.

GBP/USD reaction

GBP/USD picks up a fresh bid on the mixed UK employment data, still down 0.16% on the day to trade near 1.1036, 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).