UK jobs report for March was released today at 7:00 am BST. Report was expected to show a small employment gain as well as an uptick in unemployment rate. Headline and core earnings growth was expected to moderate. Simultaneously, final CPI report for April from Germany was scheduled for release, but it was not expected to trigger any major market reaction.
Actual UK data showed a big miss in employment data, with employment slumping by 84.6k. Unemployment level increased slightly less than expected, while unemployment rate increased to 4.3% in-line with expectations. Wage growth surprised to the upside. Persistently high earnings growth will act as a pro-inflationary factor and it seems to be fuelling market reaction, with GBP on the rise. German final CPI data came in-line with preliminary release.
UK, jobs data for March
- Employment change: -84.6k vs +20k expected ( -67k previously)
- Unemployment change: 8.9k vs 13.9k expected (10.9k previously)
- Unemployment rate: 4.3% vs 4.3% expected (4.2% previously)
- Weekly earnings: 5.7% YoY vs 5.5% expected (5.6% YoY previously)
- Weekly earnings ex-bonuses: 6.0% YoY vs 5.9% YoY expected (6.0% YoY previously)
Germany, final CPI report for April
- CPI inflation (annual): 2.2% YoY vs 2.2% YoY in first release
- CPI inflation (monthly): 0.5% MoM vs 0.5% MoM in first release
EURGBP dropped after release of UK jobs report for March. Source: xStation5
