Employment Continues to Soar, Raises........>

UK DATA: Employment Continues to Soar, Raises Productivity Questions     

- UK Dec-Feb Employment +179,000, line with MNI median                  

- UK Dec-Feb LFS Unemployment rate 3.9%, unchanged from Nov-Jan        

- UK Unemployment -27,000; inactivity rate at join record-low 20.7%                 

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The red-hot UK employment market continued to sizzle, with the economy 

generating another 179,000 new jobs between December and February, after 

a 222,000 gain in the three months to January.  That lifted the 

employment rate to a joint-recrod-high 76.1%. However the strong rate of 

jobs growth -- which coincides with a Brexit-related decline in business  

investment -- raises questions about productivity growth, as companies 

appear to substitute labour for capital-intensive productivity-boosting 

investment.