U.K. total employment falls in Q3, jobless rate remains at 4.3 pct

The U.K. labor market report released today is expected to be seen as an early sign that employment conditions might be beginning to weaken. Total employment in the U.K. fell by 14k in the September quarter. This is the first decline since last October and the sharpest decline since mid-2015. Moreover, pay growth was widely unchanged, with the headline pace at 2.2 percent, which is still below the inflation rate.

The jobless rate continued to be low at a 42-year low of 4.3 percent and the number of people outside the labor force increased by the most in more than seven years. In short, labor availability continues to be tight. Furthermore, business surveys show that skill shortages continue to be rife and employment demand strong, noted Lloyds in a research report.

Meanwhile, productivity improved in the quarter. Gauged by output per hour, productivity in the U.K. was up 0.9 percent, the strongest quarterly gain since early 2011.

“With the pool of available labour limited, it is essential that productivity improves if the UK economy is going to sustain decent growth over the coming years”, added Lloyds Bank.

At 13:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of British Pound was neutral at 33.1223, while the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was slightly bearish at 21.5486. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex

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