UK Jobless Claims Fall Unexpectedly
18 January 2017 - 6:26PM
RTTF2
U.K. unemployment declined unexpectedly at the end of 2016,
while earnings growth accelerated reflecting that the labor market
remained strong despite the 'Brexit' vote.
Data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday
that the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits
decreased by 10,100 in December from November, confounding
expectations for an increase of 5,000.
Nonetheless, the claimant count held steady at 2.3 percent in
December, in line with expectations.
The ILO unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.8 percent during
the three months ended November, the lowest since September 2005.
In the same period of 2015, the jobless rate was 5.1 percent.
In the three months to November, unemployment decreased by
52,000 from August to 1.6 million.
At the same time, average earnings including bonus increased at
a faster pace of 2.8 percent after rising 2.6 percent. Economists
had forecast the annual growth to stay at 2.6 percent. Excluding
bonus, earnings advanced 2.7 percent.
Consumer price inflation had risen to 1.6 percent in December
and it is forecast to exceed the 2 percent target this year.
Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of
Commerce, said, "With employment levels still close to record
levels and unemployment continuing to fall, the latest indicators
confirm that the UK jobs market remains a major bright spot for the
UK economy."
"While labor market conditions could soften over the next year
as economic growth slows, the high degree of flexibility in the
jobs market will help limit the extent of any uptick in
unemployment," said Thiru.
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