MNI DATA IMPACT: UK Jobs Growth, Regular Wages Top Forecasts>

By Les Commons and Laurie Laird 

LONDON (MNI) - The robust UK jobs market confounded forecasts of a 

slowdown in the three months to April, with employment and 

regular earnings both recording healthy gains. 

The following are the key points from the February to April employment 

reported released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. 

     - Employment increased by 32,000, well ahead of single-digit gains 

expected by analysts. The employment rate remained at a record high 

76.1%.  

     - The LFS unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, matching its lowest 

level since the last quarter of 1974.

     - Regular earnings growth exceeded expectations, rising by 3.4% 

after a 3.3% gain in the first quarter. In the month of April, earnings 

jumped by 3.8%, the biggest since single month gain since May of 2008. 

     - However, a slowdown in bonus pay, as highlighted by the Monetary 

Policy Committee, dampened total earnings, which grew by 3.1%, down from 

3.3% in the first quarter. 

     - Bonus growth was particularly weak in manufacturing (down by 

an annual rate of 6.2% in the three months to April) and retail 

(-12.8%). Bonuses for both sectors have now falled sharply over the past 

nine overlapping three-month periods).

     - However, there were pockets of weakness in Tuesday's report.  

The single month unemployment rate jumped to 4.0% in April from 3.7% in 

March, according to experimental statistics. That's the highest rate 

since December 2018. 

     -  The inactivity rate rose for the first time since the third 

quarter of 2018, but, at 20.8%, remains only a touch above its record 

low. 

     - Vacancies declined for the fourth-straight overlapping period, 

falling by 12,000 to 837,000, but remain high by historical standards.  

-London bureau: 44 (0) 203 865 3812; email: ukeditorial@marketnews.com

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