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UK Unemployment Lowest Since 1970’s

• Posted by currencies in Bank of England, Bremain, Brexit, Currency, Dollar, Economy, EUR, GBP, Mark Carney, Prime Minister, Referendum, Sterling, UK, Uncategorised
• May 14, 2019
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Britain’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since the mid-1970s as a pre-Brexit hiring surge continued, but workers’ pay rose a bit less quickly in the first three months of 2019, official data showed this morning.

The unemployment rate stood at 3.8%, its lowest since early 1975 and down slightly from a previous reading of 3.9%, the Office for National Statistics said this morning.

Employment grew by 99,000, below the median forecast of 135,000 in a poll of economists.

In the January-March period, total earnings, including bonuses, rose by an annual 3.2%, slowing from 3.5% in the three months to February and weaker than a forecast of 3.4% in the poll.

The BoE this month said it expected wage growth of 3% at the end of this year.

The British currency is at a two-day low, also being dragged lower by the broader environment, with trade tensions between the United States and China hurting stocks earlier this week.