U.K. Jobless Rate at 42-Year Low Amid Strong Labor Demand
- Unemployment at 4.3% is below BOE ‘equilibrium rate’ of 4.5%
- Wages muted but officials signal there is no time to wait
A builder lays bricks at a Persimmon Plc residential property construction site in Weston-Super-Mare, U.K., on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. Persimmon -- the U.K.'s largest homebuilder by market value -- designs, develops and builds residential housing units ranging from studio apartments to executive family homes throughout the United Kingdom.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.K. jobless rate held at a 42-year low in the three months through August as Britain enjoyed near-record employment, according to figures published Wednesday.
The latest snapshot of the labor market from the Office for National Statistics may help to explain why the Bank of England appears to be edging toward its first interest-rate increase for a decade.