DATA SNAP: UK May Jobless Fall Beats Consensus
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Avg Earnings Apr Mar !Surprise: Yes !
Headline 3 Mo Avg 3.3% 2.9% !Trend: Falling !
Mfg 3 Mo Avg 3.0% 2.9% !Median: +3.1% !
Services 3 Mo Avg 3.2% 2.7% ! !
! !
Claimant Jobless May Apr !Surprise: Yes !
Percentage 3.1% 3.1% !Trend: Falling !
Total -7,000 5,400 !Median: -2,250 !
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LONDON (Dow Jones)-- U.K. unemployment resumed its downtrend in May, falling
ahead of expectations on the month, according to official figures from National
Statistics Friday.
The agency said, based on a count of those claiming unemployment benefits,
unemployment fell by 7,000 on the month, to 944,600, or 3.1% of the total
workforce. This is the largest monthly fall since January 2002.
A survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires found consensus on a 2,250 fall
in the count.
NS said the employment rate, meanwhile, was 74.6% between February and April.
This gave a total of 28.47 million workers according to the Labour Force
Survey, the highest level ever recorded.
Interestingly, women seem to have fared far better than men in the labor
market recently as, over the quarter, there was a rise in employment of 88,000,
reflecting a decrease in employment of men of 1,000 but a rise in women's
employment of 89,000.
However, based on the International Labor Organization counting method, NS
said the jobless total rose by 19,000 between February and April, to a level of
1.55 million, or an unchanged 5.1% of the workforce.
Average earnings were also a little higher than expectations.
The headline rate increased by 3.3% between February and April, against
expectations of a 3.1% rise, but low bonus payments in the financial sector
kept wage prices restrained. Public sector earnings continued their recent
trend of rising faster than those in the private sector, increasing by 4.1% Feb
to April, compared with 3.1% in the private sector.
The figures will do nothing to alter the current consensus that the British
job market has been highly resilient in the face of global downturn. The lack
of wage-driven inflationary pressure may provide some comfort to fixed-income
markets, but, again, is hardly a new story as wage settlements have been in
decline all year.
(MORE) Dow Jones Newswires 14-06-02
0845GMT |
