UK claimant count positively surprises, wage growth picks up

The Office for National Statistics noted on Wednesday, the number of people employed in the UK increased by 4,000 q/q in March while the UK’s official jobless rate remained unchanged a decade low of 5.1% during that period.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits declined by 2,400 in April, against expectations of a 4,300 increase. The claimant count rate stayed at 2.1%, the lowest since 1974.

Wage growth, excluding bonuses decelerated to 2.1% from 2.2% in the quarter to March, while wages including bonuses unexpectedly rose to 2.0%, from an upwardly revised 1.9% and beating expectations of a drop to 1.7%.