ZCZC
BCN-20
BRITAIN-ECONOMY-UNEMPLOYMENT
UK jobless rate dips to 44-year low
LONDON, Jan 22, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Britain’s unemployment rate has fallen to
the lowest level in 44 years, official data showed Tuesday, as the labour
market shrugged off Brexit uncertainty.
The jobless rate — the proportion of the workforce that is unemployed —
stood at 4.0 percent in the three months to November, the lowest level since
1975, the Office for National Statistics said.
That marked a decline from 4.1 percent in the three months to October, the
ONS added in a statement, while expectations had been for no change.
Wages meanwhile grew at the fastest pace for a decade, in upbeat data
published two months before Britain exits the European Union.
Average earnings including bonuses grew by 3.4 percent in the three months
to November from a year earlier, outstripping British inflation.
“The labour market is currently robust, holding up extremely well in the
face of recent slower UK economic activity and heightened Brexit
uncertainties,” said EY economist Howard Archer.
Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but markets remain fearful of
the potential economic impact of a disorderly “no-deal” Brexit.
BSS/AFP/SR/2000 HRS