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UK Jobless Rate Lower Again in Apr; Pay Growth Up Sharply

UK DATA
MNI (London)

FEB-APR LFS JOBLESS RATE 4.7% VS 4.8%

FEB-APR AVG TOTAL EARNINGS +5.6% VS +4.3% PRIOR

FEB-APR AVG EARNINGS EX-BONUS +5.6% VS +4.6% PRIOR

MAY CLAIMANT COUNT DOWN 92,600 to 2,495,700

  • The UK jobless rate ticked down again to 4.7 in Apr, in line with markets looking for a small downtick to 4.7%.
  • While the employment rate edged slightly up to 75.2% in Apr, the inactivity rate was unchanged at 21.0%.
  • More up-to-date PAYE data showed a m/m increase of 197,000 in the number of payrolled employees in May, the largest uptick since records began in Jul 2014. However, compared to Feb 2020, there were still 553,000 fewer people in payrolled employment, and the largest falls have been recorded in the accommodation and hospitality sector and among those under 25 and living in London.
  • There were 758,000 vacancies in Mar 2021 to May 2021, 146,600 more than in the previous quarter and only 27k less than before the crisis. Jobs growth was particularly strong in the hospitality sector.
  • Redundancies were back at pre-crisis levels in Apr and the number of furloughed employees continued to fall.
  • Wages grew strongly in the 3 months to Apr with total nominal pay rising by 5.6%, the highest level since Mar 2007. However, the ONS noted that pay growth is affected by compositional effects and base effects and the underlying picture suggests a more modest pay rise.
MNI London Bureau | +44 203-865-3814 | irene.prihoda@marketnews.com

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