UK Jobless Rate Rises To 4.5%

(RTTNews) - The UK unemployment rate rose slightly in the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics reported Tuesday.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in the three months to March, in line with expectations, from 4.4 percent in the preceding period.

Average regular earnings excluding bonuses grew 5.6 percent on a yearly basis in the January to March period. This was slightly slower than the expected growth of 5.7 percent.

Meanwhile, including bonuses, average earnings advanced 5.5 percent year-on-year, which was better than the forecast of 5.2 percent. Payroll employees for April decreased 33,000 compared to the previous month and declined 106,000 from the previous year to 30.3 million. The estimated number of vacancies was down by 42,000 from the previous quarter to 761,000 during February to April. This was the 34th consecutive quarterly decline. Data showed that an around 55,000 working days were lost because of labor disputes in March.