Macro
UK unemployment unexpectedly falls to 4.7% as vacancies sink to their lowest since 2014, outside the pandemic
The jobless rate beat forecasts, but falling vacancies and softer total pay growth sent mixed signals to the Bank of England.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
Britain's unemployment rate fell to 4.7% in the three months to August, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday, beating economists' forecasts of 4.9%. The number of people out of work stood at 1.712 million, and the employment rate for 16- to 64-year-olds rose to 75.3%.
Other measures were weaker. Vacancies fell by 21,000 to 691,000 in the July-to-September period, the lowest level outside the pandemic since 2014. Payrolled employees were down 111,000 from a year earlier, and the claimant count rose by 30,300 in September, more than the roughly 19,400 economists expected.
Pay growth was mixed. Regular earnings, which exclude bonuses, rose 3.7% from a year earlier, a touch above the 3.6% forecast. Total pay also grew 3.7%, slowing from 3.9% and the weakest pace since 2020. Public-sector regular pay rose 6.3%, against 3.0% in the private sector.
Sterling edged higher after the release, with the pound up 0.26% at $1.3341. The ONS said the labour market has been broadly flat in 2026 and cautioned against reading too much into single-month moves.