Investing.com - The jobless rate in the U.K. was unchanged as expected in June, while the claimant count registered a surprise drop in July and average earnings were in line with forecasts, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said that the rate of unemployment remained at 4.9% in the three months to June, in line with forecasts.
The claimant count unexpectedly fell by a seasonally adjusted 8,600 in July, compared to expectations for a increase of 9,500 people, and following an advance of 900 a month earlier, whose figure was revised from a previously reported gain of 400.
Meanwhile, the average earnings index, including bonuses, rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.4% in the three months to June, in line with forecasts and after increasing by 2.3% in the three months to May.
Excluding bonuses, wages rose by 2.3%, also in line with the consensus estimate and following a 2.2% increase in the three months to June.
Following the report, the pound strengthened. GBP/USD traded at 1.3052 from around 1.3014 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.8630 from 0.8652 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets continued trading lower. London’s FTSE 100 lost 0.15%, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 shed 1.01%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.67%, while Germany's DAX traded down 0.71%.