UK Unemployment Rate rises to 4.3% in quarter to September vs. 4.1% expected

• The UK Unemployment Rate rose to 4.3% in three months to September.
• The Claimant Count Change for Britain arrived at 26.7K in September.
• GBP/USD remains pressured toward 1.2800 after mixed UK employment data.

The United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate ticked up to 4.3% in the three months to September, following 4.0% in August, the data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday. The market had expected a 4.1% reading in the reported period.

Additional details of the report showed that the number of people claiming jobless benefits climbed by 26.7K in October, compared with a revised gain of 10.1K in September, missing the expected 30.5K print.

The Employment Change data for September came in at 219K versus August’s 373K.

Meanwhile, Average Earnings, excluding Bonus, in the UK increased 4.8% 3M YoY in September versus a 4.9% raise in August. The market forecast was for a 4.7% growth.

Another measure of wage inflation, Average Earnings, including Bonus, rose 4.8% in the same period after accelerating by 3.9%  in the quarter through August. The data beat the estimated 3.9% growth.

Commenting on the UK employment report, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall MP said, “ 2.8 million people – a near record number are locked out of work due to poor health. This is bad for people, bad for businesses and it’s holding our economy back. That’s why our Get Britain Working plan will bring forward the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation, backed by an additional £240m of investment.”

“And while it’s encouraging to see real pay growth this month, more needs to be done to improve living standards too. So, from April next year over three million of the lowest paid workers will benefit from our increase to the National Living Wage, delivering a £1,400 a year pay rise for a full-time worker,” Kendall added.

GBP/USD reaction to the UK employment report

GBP/USD inches further south in reaction to the mixed UK employment data. The pair is trading 0.42% lower on the day at 1.2814, as of writing.