FX.co ★ UK Unemployment Declines; Job Vacancies At Record High

The UK unemployment declined in three months to February and job vacancies rose to a new record high, the Office for National Statistics said Tuesday.

The jobless rate fell 0.2 percent points from the previous quarter to 3.8 percent in three months to February. The rate came in line with expectations.

At the same time, the employment rate was largely unchanged at 75.5 percent, but remained below the pre-pandemic level.

The number of job vacancies rose to a new record 1,288,000 in January to March period. However, the rate of growth in vacancies continued to slow down.

In March, payrolled employment showed a small monthly growth of 35,000 to a record 29.6 million, data showed.

Average earnings including bonuses, grew 5.4 percent annually in three months to February. Excluding bonus, average earnings was up 4.0 percent. Both rates matched economists' expectations.