The U.K.'s unemployment rate held steady at a 43-year low but pay growth came in slightly below expectations, adding more uncertainty to the Bank of England's interest rate decision in August.
Unemployment remained at 4.2%, its joint lowest since 1975, in the three months to April, in line with expectations and down from 4.6% a year earlier. The employment rate was 75.6%, its equal highest since 1971 and up from 74.8%.
The number of people in work increased by 146,000 from the previous three months and by 440,000 from a year earlier to 32.39 million in the three months to April.
Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, increased by 2.5% from a year earlier in nominal terms, slightly below Econoday's consensus estimate of a 2.6% increase. Excluding bonuses, average weekly earnings rose by 2.8% from a year ago, down from 2.9% in the first quarter of 2018.
"The latest U.K. wage growth figure is a little weaker than anticipated but is unlikely to bat too many eyelids at the Bank of England," said James Smith, developed markets economist at ING Research.
In real terms, average weekly earnings edged up by 0.1% year over year when including bonuses and were up by 0.4% after excluding bonuses.
"We still feel an August rate hike is more likely than not, given what policymakers have been saying over recent weeks, as well as the better news on wage growth. But with the economy clearly still struggling to regain poise, nothing is guaranteed," Smith said.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by 7,700 to 886,200 in May from 893,900 in April.
