'Experimental' UK unemployment rate ticks up slightly as hiring slows

Higher interest rates bite

clock • 3 min read

The UK unemployment rate rose slightly between June to August, according to ‘experimental data’ by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as the impact of higher interest rates bite and companies scale back hiring.

Estimates for June to August 2023 show a slight increase in the unemployment rate by 0.2 percentage points to 4.2%, compared with the previous quarter. The ONS recorded a 0.3 percentage point decrease in the UK employment rate to 75.7%, compared with the previous quarter from March to May 2023. It is up on the year but still below pre-pandemic levels. Estimates for this set of data have been labelled ‘experimental' by the ONS, as it uses growth rates from ‘pay as you earn' data and the claimant count to provide a "more holistic view of the state of the labour market". Pay growth ea...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on UK

UK wage growth defies forecasts but slows to lowest level in more than a year
UK

UK wage growth defies forecasts but slows to lowest level in more than a year

Regular pay eases less than expected

Valeria Martinez
clock 13 February 2024 • 3 min read
UK statistics regulator withholds endorsement of UK jobs data - reports
UK

UK statistics regulator withholds endorsement of UK jobs data - reports

‘Way to go’ for reliability

clock 12 February 2024 • 2 min read
Shawbrook Bank owners consider London IPO - reports
UK

Shawbrook Bank owners consider London IPO - reports

BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital

Eve Maddock-Jones
clock 12 February 2024 • 1 min read
Trustpilot