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16 Apr 2014
UK: Claimant Count Change down 30.4K in March
FXStreet (Łódź) - The number of unemployment people in the UK fell by 30.4K in March, following a 37K drop registered in February, National Statistics reported on Wednesday. Analysts expected a 30K decrease. The Claimant Count Rate was at 3.4%, down from the 3.5% reading.
The ILO Unemployment Rate slid to 6.9% in February, from 7.1% in January, against forecasts of remaining at 7.1%. Average Earnings excluding Bonus rose 1.4% in the three months to February, following a 1.2% reading in the three months to January, below expectations of +1.7%. Average Earnings including Bonus increased 1.7%, up from the 1.4% growth, slightly below projections of +1.8%.
According to James Knightley from ING: “The people in work, the wages story and the underemployment figures are all very encouraging and suggest that the 'slack' in the labour market is shrinking.”
“As such, while we are still sticking with our view that the first BoE rate hike will come in February next year, the relative strength in the economy means we feel the risks are skewed towards an earlier move rather than a later one.”
The ILO Unemployment Rate slid to 6.9% in February, from 7.1% in January, against forecasts of remaining at 7.1%. Average Earnings excluding Bonus rose 1.4% in the three months to February, following a 1.2% reading in the three months to January, below expectations of +1.7%. Average Earnings including Bonus increased 1.7%, up from the 1.4% growth, slightly below projections of +1.8%.
According to James Knightley from ING: “The people in work, the wages story and the underemployment figures are all very encouraging and suggest that the 'slack' in the labour market is shrinking.”
“As such, while we are still sticking with our view that the first BoE rate hike will come in February next year, the relative strength in the economy means we feel the risks are skewed towards an earlier move rather than a later one.”