Unemployment in the United Kingdom rises to 4.2 percent in the second quarter of the year

Unemployment in the UK rose from 0.3 percent to 4.2 percent in the April-June period.

According to data released by the National Statistics Office (ONS), the employment rate in the country decreased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous quarter to 75.7 percent in the second quarter of the year.

In this period, unemployment increased from 0.3 percent to 4.2 percent due to the increase in the number of those who have not worked in the last 6 months.

In this period, when the economic inactivity rate fell from 0.1 percent to 20.9 percent, the number of people who were inactive due to prolonged illness reached a record level.

In addition, 160,000 work days were lost due to strikes in June. Half of these losses were due to strikes by healthcare workers in June.

RISE IN WAGES RISE IN INFLATION CONCERNS

In the second quarter of this year, regular employee salaries, excluding bonuses, rose 7.8 percent on-year, the highest annual increase since comparable records began in 2001.

The rise, which exceeded expectations, raises concerns about inflation in the country, while wage increases are important for the Bank of England’s (BoE) monetary policy decisions. The aforementioned data supports predictions that the bank could raise the policy rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent at its September meeting.

The annual increase in average salaries, including bonuses, was 8.2 percent in the same period.

Total and regular salaries in reais (adjusted for inflation) increased 0.5 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively, year-over-year.

Inflation in the country fell to 7.9 percent in June, exceeding expectations. July inflation will be announced on August 16.

BoE Chairman Andrew Bailey has previously stated that the level of wage increases is unsustainable. (AA)