British wages rose faster than anticipated last month, in a move that economists judge may tip the Bank of England towards a further rise in interest rates next month, despite an unexpected increase in joblessness too.
The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate edged up to 3.8% - its highest since the second quarter of 2022 - rather than holding at 3.7%, as forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.
"For those of us expecting the Bank of England to keep interest rates unchanged next month, the latest surprise pick-up in UK wage growth undoubtedly puts a spanner in the works," said James Smith, economist at ING. Earlier this month, BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said he saw signs that pay growth might be slowing, but that it was too early to say that the BoE's job was done on interest rates, which it has increased 11 times since December 2021.
Economic inactivity dropped sharply over the quarter to its lowest since May 2022 at 21.1%, due largely to a jump in the number of students seeking jobs. But long-term sickness in the working-age population - a major problem since the pandemic - rose to a record high in absolute terms.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bank earnings ‘off to a good start,’ with Bank of America and Goldman Sachs on deckFirst-quarter earnings from the largest U.S. banks are off to a mostly positive beginning despite a tough start to the year for the sector, analysts said.
Read more »
GBP/USD drops towards 1.2370 as BoE eyes urgent action ahead of UK inflation, US PMIGBP/USD stands on slippery grounds as it extends the previous day’s pullback from a 10-month high to refresh an intraday low near 1.2390 during early
Read more »
BoE to raise rates once more in May but decision a close callThe Bank of England likely has one more hike in its tightening cycle but it was a close call for a final quarter-point rate lift in May, according to a Reuters poll of economists who said the bigger risk was inflation being higher than they expect.
Read more »
BoE Considers Limits on Stablecoin Payments as Parliament Debates New Crypto RulesThe Bank of England plans on releasing a consultation proposal by the end of the year, Jon Cunliffe said at Innovate Finance’s annual global summit.
Read more »
BoE to raise rates once more in May but decision a close call: Reuters pollThe Bank of England likely has one more hike in its tightening cycle but it was a close call for a final quarter-point rate lift in May, according to a Reuters poll of economists who said the bigger risk was inflation being higher than they expect.
Read more »
Ripple-based MoneyTap adopted by three Japanese banksSBI Holdings’s remittance arm SBI Remit has added support of its mobile MoneyTap application to three local banks, including Yamaguchi Bank, Momiji Bank and Kitakyushu Bank.
Read more »