- UK claimant count change arrived at -92.6K in May.
- The unemployment rate in the UK dropped to 4.7% in April.
- The UK wages excluding bonuses rose by 5.6% YoY vs. 5.3% expected.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday, the UK’s official jobless rate dropped further to 4.7% in April vs. the previous 4.8% and 4.7% expected while the claimant count change showed a bigger-than-expect drop last month.
The number of people claiming jobless benefits showed a sharp decrease of 92.6K in May when compared to -55.8K seen previously. The claimant count rate came in at 6.2% vs. 6.4% last.
The UK’s average weekly Earnings, excluding bonuses, arrived at +5.6% 3Mo/YoY in March versus +4.6% last and +5.3% expected while the gauge including bonuses came in at +5.6% 3Mo/YoY in March versus +4.3% previous and +4.9% expected.
Key points (via ONS)
UK may flash employment estimate +0.5% YoY
UK May flash employment estimate shows 197,000 more payrolled employees than in April 2021.
UK average weekly earnings 5.6% YoY in 3 months to April.
UK average weekly earnings ex-bonuses 5.6% YoY in 3 months to April
UK vacancies +146,600 in three months to May.
Wage growth raised by both compositional and base effects.
GBP/USD reaction
GBP/USD keeps the renewed upside intact after upbeat UK jobs report.
The spot was last seen trading at 1.4120, up 0.05% on the day, as the focus shifts to the US data and FOMC.
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).