Unemployment in a recession-hit Britain has nudged higher as growth in wages falls further, according to official data Tuesday that supports analyst expectations of an upcoming cut to the United Kingdom’s (UK) interest rates.
UK Unemployment Data
According to a statement from the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate increased from 3.8 percent in the last quarter of 2018 to 3.9 percent in the three months leading up to the end of January.
AFP reports that the ONS stated that the average regular wage growth, excluding incentives, decreased from 6.2 percent to 6.1 percent.
Jerrymusa.com reports that real wages increased by just 2% throughout the reporting period when the yearly inflation rate in Britain was taken into account.
The Bank of England is anticipated to reduce interest rates as early as June, similar to the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, as inflation declines and after several rate hikes to counteract surging costs.
“The Bank of England probably still finds the easing in wage growth to be a little too slow,” says Paul Dales, head of the Capital Economics research group in the United Kingdom.
“However, there are positive indications that a more significant slowdown is on the horizon and that a June interest rate reduction is feasible.”
Reactions have been following the 2024 prohibition on foreign carers and health workers bringing their families to the UK.
This was said in a statement made on Monday on the Home Office X account by James Cleverly, the Secretary of State for the Home Department.
‘As part of its migration reduction goals, the UK enacted the ban, as cleverly stated.”
Cleverly added, “As of today (Monday), care workers entering the UK on Health and Care Worker visas are no longer permitted to bring dependents.
“This is how we want to deliver the biggest ever cut in migration,” he added.
The majority of Africans, Asians, and Britons criticised UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for implementing such a policy.