Latest data released by ONS - 20 April 2021

  • Prior 86.6k; revised to 67.3k
  • Claimant count rate 7.3%
  • Prior 7.5%; revised to 7.3%
  • February ILO unemployment rate 4.9% vs 5.0% expected
  • Prior 5.0%
  • February employment change -73k vs -145k expected
  • Prior -147k
  • February average weekly earnings +4.5% vs +4.8% 3m/y expected
  • Prior +4.8%
  • February average weekly earnings (ex bonus) +4.4% vs +4.2% 3m/y expected
  • Prior +4.2%; revised to +4.3%

Slight delay in the release by the source. The headline reading continues to see some volatile jumps as the furlough program makes it tough to really read much into the data, with the February jobless rate also seen easing slightly.

There isn't much of a takeaway from the report as underlying labour market conditions are still mostly obscured and it is hard to reach much into the numbers.

ONS does note that UK employment rate was estimated at 75.1% - some 1.4% lower than it was a year ago. Adding that annual pay growth continues to strengthen but may be due to a fall in lower-paid jobs as compared to pre-pandemic labour market conditions.