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UK unemployment drops to 4.2% in 3M ended February

UK unemployment drops to 4.2% in 3M ended February

Mubasher: The jobless rate in the UK fell in the three months ended February compared to the period from July to September, data released on Tuesday showed.

Unemployment in the UK dropped to 4.2% between December 2017 and February 2018, its lowest rate since 1975, compared to 4.7% in the same period a year earlier.

The number of jobless people fell during the period by 16,000 to 1.42 million, whereas year-on-year the number retreated by 136,000, data released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated.

Meanwhile, the UK’s employment rate had increased to 75.4% in the three months to February versus 74.6% in the same period of the previous year.

As for economically inactive people, those aged 16 to 64 and who are not working and not seeking employment, their numbers were little changed at 8.73 million in the three months ended February compared to data released for the September to November 2017 period. Year-on-year their numbers had fallen by 154,000.

Average weekly earnings across the UK in real terms, which include adjustments for price inflation, grew by 0.2% excluding bonuses and by 0.1% including bonuses compared to the same period of the previous year, the ONS said.

Meanwhile, estimates for earnings not adjusted for price inflation showed a 2.8% increase, both excluding and including bonuses, compared with a year earlier.

By 9:06 am GMT, GBP/USD fell 0.08% to $1.4328.