UK Employment Data UK Wage Data

Pound Sterling rose against all major currencies in early trade on Tuesday, driven by a bid in GBP/EUR, after official data showed employment rising and the unemployment rate falling late in the second quarter.

Leading indicators suggest job losses will soon drive unemployment higher and that it could climb faster than many forecasters expect, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics, meaning that a commonly-relented shortage of labour in the UK may now be about to dissipate as if it were a phantom.

UK jobs data was on balance supportive for the Pound, with the currency rising against the Euro, Dollar and most other major currencies in the wake of the release.

UK unemployment fell to 3.8% in February from 3.9% in January while wages increased, data that should keep the British Pound supported near-term.

Strong labour market data could offer the Bank of England confidence to raise interest rates again in February, maintaining a positive outlook for the British Pound.

UK labour market statistics for the October-November period showed a stronger than expected rise in UK wages, suggesting inflationary pressures in the UK could remain elevated for longer than the Bank of England had anticipated.

The British Pound will take guidance from labour market data due for release on Tuesday as it could determine whether or not the Bank of England raises interest rates in December.

The latest UK labour market data suggest the UK is all but likely to avoid a major increase in unemployment following the ending of the government's furlough scheme in September, paving the way for a Bank of England interest rate hike.

The Pound caught a bid on Tuesday in the wake of better than expected labour market statistics, confirming our suspicions that the currency was likely to become increasingly responsive to data releases in the short-term.

The UK's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 5.0% in January, down from 5.1% in December, suggesting businesses are increasingly optimistic on the economic outlook.

The UK Government has been urged to maintain its employment support schemes until at least June after data showed that the UK's economy shed yet more jobs in the final part of 2020.

UK labour market statistics released on Tuesday reveal the economy shed 164K jobs in the three months to September, a figure that was worse than the -148K a survey of economists were expecting.

A leading online jobs portal is reporting a jump in job application volumes, confirming economist expectations for a surge in unemployment at the end of the month when the government's Jobs Retention Scheme (JRTS) ends.

Britain's labour market showed signs of life in September but not enough to reverse the damage done by earlier coronavirus containment efforst and with the economy now slowing again as more virus-related restrictions come into effect, some economists are warning of a perfect winter storm ahead.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Winter Plan for the economy hasn't done enough to prevent a wave of Job losses over coming months say Economists, and is being branded a tax on employers by one economist who has crunched the numbers.

The UK reported better than expected headline employment figures on Tuesday, however economists remain overwhelmingly of the opinion that the labour market will deteriorate significantly into year-end.

The British Pound trades above the key 1.11 area against the Euro and 1.30 against the U.S. Dollar in the wake of the release of UK employment statistics that showed the country's unemployment rate reached 3.9% in June, which is better than the 4.2% markets were expecting.

The UK added 6K jobs in the three months to April according to the ONS, which was a surprising result for a market that was anticipating a fall in employment to the tune of 83K.

Sterling volatility was seen on Tuesday after Heiko Maas indicated a harder line will be forthcoming from Germany on any future Brexit extensions,  while the domestic agenda will be dominated by UK wage and employment data.

The UK labour market appears to be in decent shape with numbers out of the ONS confirming January saw a joint record for the numbers of employed in the UK economy.