The Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday said the May-July jobless rate reading – a low for 11 years – matched the 4.9-percent figure for the three month period that ended in June.
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The employment rate remained at a record high of 74.5 per cent, with 31.8 million people in work between May and July – 174,000 more than the previous quarter.
United Kingdom retail sales delivered a positive surprise in August, increasing more than expected on the back of a very strong display from food stores, while July figures were revised to show a bigger rebound than the one that was initially recorded.
Furniture volumes followed suit by returning to positive growth from a two month drop of 0.9% in June and 4.3% in July, reporting its strongest increase since April when volumes rose by 7.4%.
The growth in wages slowed slightly, which may be regarded as a signal for tougher times for consumers.
Andy Willox, Scottish policy convenor at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “While these figures are encouraging, smaller businesses and the self-employed still need support from governments in Edinburgh and London”.
Consequently, the BoE last month made a decision to cut the central bank’s main interest rate to a record low 0.25 percent and pump tens of billions of extra pounds around the United Kingdom economy. From May to July, a total of 5.33 million people were working in the public sector.
The employment rate in Scotland now stands at 74.1 per cent, which remains behind the UK-wide record average of 74.5 per cent.
To an extent, he meant away from financial services and towards manufacturing.
Yes, employment is at record levels, but it is the private sector that is on the up.
The UK’s unemployment figures have been derived from the Labour Force Survey, in which the ONS speaks to households around the country every three months.
Ian Gilmartin, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays, said: ” The retail industry has again posted a robust set of results, beating expectations in August with more solid year-on-year growth and only a small monthly dip following July’s bumper figures.
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