- The UK unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in the three months to November.
- The change in the number of jobless claimants in Britain reached 0.7K in December.
- GBP/USD falls further towards 1.2250 following mixed UK employment data.
The United Kingdom (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate rose to 4.4% in the three months to November, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday. The reading missed expectations of 4.3% in the reported period.
Additional details from the report showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits increased by only 0.7K in December, compared to a revised drop of 25.1K in November, exceeding the expected figure of 10.3K.
Employment change data for November stood at 35K compared to 173K in October.
Meanwhile, average earnings, excluding bonuses, in the UK rose 5.6% year-on-year in November against growth of 5.2% in October. Markets estimated a figure of 5.5%.
Another measure of wage inflation, average earnings including bonuses rose 5.6% in the same period after growing 5.2% in the quarter to October. The data met the expected growth of 5.6%.
GBP/USD reaction to UK jobs report
GBP/USD finds new sales following the release of UK employment data. The pair is trading 0.49% lower on the day at 1.2265, at the time of writing.
Pound Sterling PRICE Today
The table below shows the percentage change of the British Pound (GBP) against major currencies today. Pound sterling was the weakest currency against the Japanese yen.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.46% | 0.52% | -0.06% | 0.97% | 0.65% | 0.67% | 0.26% | |
| EUR | -0.46% | 0.07% | -0.48% | 0.51% | 0.19% | 0.22% | -0.20% | |
| GBP | -0.52% | -0.07% | -0.57% | 0.44% | 0.12% | 0.15% | -0.26% | |
| JPY | 0.06% | 0.48% | 0.57% | 1.00% | 0.67% | 0.69% | 0.29% | |
| CAD | -0.97% | -0.51% | -0.44% | -1.00% | -0.32% | -0.29% | -0.70% | |
| AUD | -0.65% | -0.19% | -0.12% | -0.67% | 0.32% | 0.02% | -0.38% | |
| NZD | -0.67% | -0.22% | -0.15% | -0.69% | 0.29% | -0.02% | -0.42% | |
| CHF | -0.26% | 0.20% | 0.26% | -0.29% | 0.70% | 0.38% | 0.42% |
The heat map shows percentage changes for major currencies. The base currency is selected from the left column, while the quote currency is selected from the top row. For example, if you choose the British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change shown in the box will represent the GBP (base)/USD (quote).
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.
