UK wages rise by 3.4% 3m y/y in April, beat estimates (GBP/USD hits fresh highs)

• The UK wages excluding bonuses rose by 3.4% y/y compared to 3.1% y/y expected.
• The UK wages including bonuses rose by 3.1% y/y compared to 3.0% y/y expected.
• The UK unemployment rate steadies at 3.8% in April.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday, the UK’s average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, bettered expectations, arriving at 3.4% 3m y/y in April versus 3.3% last and 3.1% expected while the gauge including bonuses came in at 3.1% 3m y/y in April versus 3.3% previous and 3.0% expected.

The Kingdom’s official jobless rate steadied at 3.8% in April, while the claimant count change showed a slight bigger-than-expected increase.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits rose by 23.2k in May, against expectations of a 22.9k increase and +19.1k (revised from +24.7k) seen previously. The claimant count rate edged higher to 3.1%.