• The British Unemployment Rate unexpectedly rises to 3.8% in February.
• UK Claimant Count Change came in at 28.2K in March.
• The UK wages excluding bonuses advances to 6.6% YoY in February vs. 6.2% expected.

The latest data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday that the United Kingdom’s (UK) ILO Unemployment Rate climbed to 3.8% in February vs. the 3.7% expected while the claimant count change showed a surprise increase in the reported month.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits jumped by 28.2K in March, compared with -11.8K expected and -18.8K booked previously.

The UK’s average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, arrived at 6.6% 3Mo/YoY in February versus 6.6% prior and 6.2% expected while the gauge including bonuses stood at 5.9% 3Mo/YoY in the second month of the year versus 5.9% previous and 5.1% expected.

Key points (via ONS)

GBP/USD reaction

GBP/USD picks up fresh bids to briefly recapture 1.2400 on the mixed UK employment data before retreating to 1.2397, where it now wavers. The pair is up 0.18% on the day.

About UK jobs

The UK Average Earnings released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is a key short-term indicator of how levels of pay are changing within the UK economy. Generally speaking, positive earnings growth anticipates positive (or bullish) for the GBP, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).