The Unemployment claims in the United Kingdom increased by 46,700 during the month of April unexpectedly, as the consensus called for a fall of 10,800. This is the largest increase seen in 26 months, specifically since February 2021. The data for March has been revised downward, going to 26,500 requests from the 28,200 published a month ago, according to National Statistics.
In her March reading, the ILO unemployment rate has increased one tenth, rising to 3.9% vs. 3.8% prior and forecast. This is the highest unemployment rate recorded since January 2022, when it was also 3.9%.
Average earnings excluding bonuses in the January-March quarter rose 6.7%, up from 6.6% previously but below the 6.8% estimate. Including bonuses, salaries maintained their growth rate at 5.8%, exceeding the 5.1% consensus.
GBP Reaction
The British Pound has reacted lower to the data, with the GBP/USD falling close to 30 pips to fresh daily lows at 1.2491. At time of writing, the pair is trading above 1.2493, losing 0.29% daily.
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
