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UK unemployment rose unexpectedly in the three months to June, while at the same time wage inflation accelerated more quickly than expected, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday.
The UK jobless rate rose to 4.2% in the three months to June. Market consensus, as cited by FXStreet, had expected it to remain unchanged from 4.0% in the three months to May.
Also in the three months to June, annual growth in average total pay, including bonuses, accelerated to 8.2% from the upwardly revised figure of 7.2% in the previous three-month period. June’s figures overshot FXStreet-cited consensus of 7.3%.
‘This total growth rate is affected by the NHS one-off bonus payments made in June 2023,’ the ONS noted.
Still, excluding bonuses, average earnings rose 7.8%, compared to the upwardly revised reading of 7.5% in the previous month. June’s rise was above the consensus of 7.4%.
The previous month’s wage inflation figures were initially recorded as 6.9% including bonuses, and 7.3% excluding bonuses.
UK consumer price inflation was 7.9% annually in June.
In the period from May to July, vacancies fell by 66,000 on the quarter to 1.0 million.
‘In May to July 2023, total vacancies were down by 256,000 from the level of a year ago, although they remained 219,000 above their pre-coronavirus January to March 2020 levels,’ the ONS noted.
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