UK DATA: Aug Claimant Count Unemployment -15,000; rate 4.8%
-Jul Claimant Count Unemployment revised to -13,600 from -5,900
-Jul Average Weekly Earnings total pay +1.5% vs +1.8% in Jun
-May-Jul ILO Unemployment -7,000; Rate 8.1%
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Claimant count unemployment fell sharply in August, possibly helped
by temporary hiring for the Olympics, but still showing remarkable
resilience in the face of stagnant growth. The claimant count has now
fallen by around 30,000 since the start of the year, with most of that
in the past two months. This strength in the labour market has been
puzzling economists and these data will add further to the debate. It
does seem likely, however, that the Olympics has boosted short-term
hiring over the past few months. But changes in the benefit system have
boosted the claimant count recently, meaning that without these
unemployment would have fallen even more.