Data released by the UK Office for National Statistics this Tuesday morning showed negative labor market data in Britain for January, as well as unemployment and wage growth figures for the quarter ending in December.
According to the data, the number of new unemployment benefit claims in Britain rose by about 22,000 claims in January, which is much worse than expectations that indicated an increase of only about 10,000 claims. This follows a decrease of 15,100 claims in December, which was positively revised from an increase of 700 claims.
At the same time, the data showed a slowdown in the unemployment rate in Britain to 4.4% during the three months ending in December on a year-on-year basis, which was better than market expectations of 4.5%. The unemployment rate in Britain was recorded at 4.4% during the three months ending in November.
Additionally, official statistics also revealed an increase in average wages in Britain, excluding bonuses, by 6.0% for the three months ending in December on a year-on-year basis, while market expectations indicated an increase of about 5.9%. Previously, according to the reading for the quarter ending in November, Britain recorded an increase of 5.5% in average wages, which was revised from 5.6%.
