British Pound Edges Lower as Employment Market Cools
The UK has released “experimental” employment data on Tuesday, replacing the standard labour market survey due to falling response rates. The new reporting format didn’t change the fact that the UK labour market continues to lose steam. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, unemployment rose by 74,000 and the number of employed people fell by 82,000. Last week’s wage growth report showed that wages including bonuses fell from 8.5% to 8.1% y/y for the three months to August, which is still very high and a significant driver of inflation.