UK Unemployment Rate rises to 4.4% in quarter to April vs. 4.3% expected

• The UK Unemployment Rate rose to 4.4% in three months to April.
• The Claimant Count Change for Britain came in at 50.4K in May.
• GBP/USD eases 1.2700 after mixed UK jobs data.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate rose to 4.4% in the three months to April after reporting 4.3% in the previous period, data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Tuesday. The market consensus was for a 4.3% reading.

Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits rose by 50.4K in May, compared with a revised increase of 8.4K reported in April, beating the expected 10.2K increment.

The Employment Change data for April came in at -140K, as against March’s -177K.

Meanwhile, Average Earnings excluding Bonus in the UK rose 6.0% 3M YoY in April versus a 6.0% growth recorded in March. The reading matched the expectations.

Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings including Bonus increased by 5.9%  in the same period, at the same pace as seen in the quarter through March and above the expected raise of 5.7%.

GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report

GBP/USD ticked a few pips lower on the mixed UK employment data. The pair is trading flat on the day at 1.2725, as of writing.