Financial News: UK Unemployment Rate Falls To 4.9%, Wage Growth

UK Unemployment Rate Falls To 4.9%, Wage Growth Eases

04/21/2026 - 03:01:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - The UK unemployment rate dropped and wage growth eased in the three months to February, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.

The jobless rate stood at 4.9 percent in the December to February period, down from 5.2 percent in the previous three-month period. The rate was expected to remain stable at 5.2 percent.

Moreover, this was the lowest rate since the three months ending in August 2025, when it was 4.8 percent.

The employment rate dropped marginally to 75.0 percent from 75.1 percent in the November to January period.

Data showed that the annual growth in employees' average earnings, excluding bonuses, eased to 3.8 percent from 4.1 percent. Including bonuses, the yearly growth also softened to 3.6 percent from 3.8 percent.

The UK claimant count for March increased monthly but decreased on the year to an estimated 1.694 million, the ONS said.

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