TOP NEWS: UK unemployment rises to 4.0%; wage inflation speeds up

(Alliance News) - UK unemployment rose unexpectedly in the three months to May, while wage ...

Alliance News 11 July, 2023 | 6:18AM
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(Alliance News) - UK unemployment rose unexpectedly in the three months to May, while wage inflation picked up speed, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday.

The UK jobless rate unexpectedly rose to 4.0% in the three months to May. Market consensus, as cited by FXStreet, had expected it to remain unchanged from 3.8% in the three months to April.

"The unemployment rate had generally been falling from late 2013 until the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Thereafter it increased until the end of 2020 but has now returned to pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels," ONS said.

In the three months to May, annual growth in average total pay, including bonuses, accelerated to 6.9% from an upwardly-revised reading of 6.7% in the previous three-month period. May's figures topped FXStreet-cited consensus of 6.8%.

Excluding bonuses, average earnings rose 7.3%, matching the upwardly revised figure for the previous month. This was above the consensus of 7.1%.

The previous month's wage inflation figures were initially recorded as 6.5% including bonuses, and 7.2% excluding bonuses.

UK consumer price inflation was 8.7% annually in May.

In the period from April to June, vacancies are estimated to have fallen by 85,000 on the quarter to 1.0 million.

"The number of vacancies has now been falling for a full year, with this being the longest sustained fall in vacancies since 2008 to 2009," ONS explained.

Compared to the previous three-month period, the largest falls in vacancy numbers were in the sectors of accommodation & food service activities and human health & social work activities. Real estate activities and other service activities saw the largest growth in vacancies.

By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter

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