Financial News: UK Jobless Rate Remains Stable

UK Jobless Rate Remains Stable

(RTTNews) - The UK unemployment rate remained stable and wages continued to log strong growth in the three months to January period, maintaining pressure on the Bank of England to hold interest rates on Thursday.

The ILO unemployment rate registered 4.4 percent in November to January, unchanged from the preceding period, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed. The rate matched expectations.

In February, payroll employment increased 21,000 from the previous month to 30.4 million. The number of vacancies was broadly unchanged at 816,000 in the three months to February, the ONS said.

In the three months to January, average earnings including bonus grew 5.8 percent from the previous year, in line with forecast. Similarly, excluding bonus, average earnings increased 5.9 percent, as expected.

Data showed that about 50,000 working days were lost because of labor disputes in January.

Although surveys pointed to weaker hiring appetite and in some cases, layoffs, ahead of a sharp rise in employer taxation next month, that doesn't seem to be having any material impact on the official data, said ING economist James Smith.

With the labor market cooling rather than collapsing and wage growth stuck in the 5.5-6.0 percent range, the BoE is unlikely to cut interest rates today, Capital Economics economist Ruth Gregory said. The next cut will probably be in May, the economist said.

Markets widely expect the BoE to sit tight on rates today as inflation remains sticky. The nine-member policy committee is seen holding the rate at 4.50 percent in a split vote.

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