Citibank: Upside surprise in UK’s employment data

Citibank analysts point out that the latest employment data from the UK showed some upside surprises with Average Weekly Earnings up 3.4%MoM (higher than the 3.2% forecast and matching last month's solid print) while ex-bonus comes in-line and maintains its high levels at 3.4%MoM.

Key Quotes

“The unemployment rate also unexpectedly drops to 3.9% from 4.0%, due to a bumper employment change of 222k (vs. 120k consensus).”

“COMMENT: While not enough to move the BoE materially at the upcoming meeting given Brexit deadlock, this level of strength does appear to open the door for a shift down the road once the Brexit outlook gets clearer.”