Jobless claims unexpectedly fell 8,600 in July after increasing 900 in June, the Office for National Statistics in London said on Wednesday.
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Unemployment in the United Kingdom remained unchanged in the three months to June, according to the latest official data published on Wednesday, marking the last employment measurement before the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) on June 23.
This showed that the United Kingdom labour market was in strong shape going into the referendum.
The value of sterling rose briefly against the dollar and the euro.
A survey published on August 5 by a body representing the recruitment industry had suggested employers cut hiring in July as the number of permanent jobs placed by staffing firms fell at the fastest pace since 2009.
“Brexit uncertainty is not going to fade anytime soon so we unfortunately expect the unemployment rate to rise steadily through 2017”, he warned.
The Bank of England cut its benchmark interest rate to a new low this month as part of a package of measures to support the economy. The total claimant count in July was down 8600 from June at 763,600.
Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics said a decline of more 20,000 vacancies would send a recession signal.
Average wages, including bonuses, in June rose 2.2 per cent on a year earlier.
Households recovered from a loss of confidence about their finances in August, a survey showed, suggesting consumers were taking the referendum result in their stride.
Excluding bonuses, earnings rose by 2.3 per cent year-on-year, also edging up from May and in line with the poll expectations.
At the same time unemployment fell to 1.64m, down 52,000 on the first quarter of 2016 and down 207,000 on June of previous year.
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The ONS is set to publish data Thursday on retail sales in July, offering the first concrete evidence of post-vote consumer spending. The unemployment rate, which calculates the number of people actively looking for work, also held steady at a post-recession low of 4.9 per cent.
