UK labour market report: Claimant count June 2018 7.8k vs -2.1k exp

June 2018 UK labour market report 17 July 2018

Prior -7.7k
May 2018 ILO unemployment rate 4.2% vs 4.2% exp . Prior 4.2%
Average weekly earnings 2.5% vs 2.5% exp 3m y/y. Prior 2.5%
Ex-bonus 2.7% vs 2.7% exp 3m y/y. Prior 2.8%
Employment change 137k v s115k exp 3m/3m. Prior 146k

Wages on the money but the rise in claims adds some downside. Nothing game changing in these numbers for the BOE. GBPUSD took a few moments but it’s pushing higher, probably on the fact that nothing went wrong with the data, rather than something going right.

Actually, looking at the notes, the real positive news is that real earnings have gone flat/positive for the first time in a long while.

ONS Notes

Inactivity rate fell 0.2% (or -86K) on quarter to 21%
Vacancies up 7K to 824K, highest on record
Total avg weekly earnings incl in real terms (CPI measure) annually rose 0.0-0.1%, on the month
Regular avg weekly earnings ex-bonus in real terms (CPI measure) annually grew 0.2-0.3%, on the month
Slow down in wage growth was widespread, although finance sector saw lower bonus payouts