Unemployment in England rose to 4.3 percent in the first quarter
Unemployment in the UK rose to 4.3 percent in the January-March period, in line with expectations.
The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) announced the first quarter data on the labor market.
Accordingly, unemployment in the country increased in line with expectations on an annual and quarterly basis, reaching 4.3 percent in the January-March period, and employment reached 74.5 percent. Unemployment in the country has reached its highest level since May-July 2023.
The annual increase in regular salaries of employees in the UK, excluding bonuses, was calculated as 6 percent in this period, and 5.7 percent in salaries including bonuses.
Inflation-adjusted (real) regular and total salaries increased by 2 and 1.7 percent, respectively.
ONS Director of Economic Statistics Liz McKeown said in her assessment of the data that they continue to see signs that the labor market is cooling.
Noting that the increase in employees’ wages remained high, McKeown stated that the inflation-adjusted wage increase was at the highest level in the last 2 years.