2020.07.1607:01:00UTC+00UK Unemployment Rate Remains Stable

The UK unemployment remained unchanged in three months to May, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday.

In three months to May, the jobless rate was largely unchanged at 3.9 percent, well below economists' forecast of 4.2 percent.

The ONS said early indicators for June suggested that the number of employees on payrolls fell around 650,000 compared to March.

The employment rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 76.4 percent in three months to May.

Average earnings, including bonuses, declined 0.3 percent annually, which was the first fall since mid-2014. Economists had forecast annual decrease of 0.4 percent.

At the same time, annual growth in earnings, excluding bonuses, grew at a slower pace of 0.7 percent versus the expected growth of 0.5 percent.

Data showed that job vacancies during April to June were at the lowest level since the Vacancy Survey began in April to June 2001, at an estimated 333,000.

In June, jobless claims decreased 28,100 from the previous month, in contrast to an expected increase of 250,000.