Investing.com - Sterling pushed higher on Wednesday after data showing that the U.K. unemployment rate was unchanged in the three months to August, indicating that the June 23 Brexit vote still has not hit the labor market.
GBP/USD was up 0.19% at 1.2324 from around 1.2307 earlier.
The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9% between June and August, an almost eleven year low, the Office of National Statistics said.
But the rate of job creation slowed in the three months to August, with the number of people in work increasing by 106,000, following gains of more than 170,000 in each of three previous employment reports.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits rose by just 700 to 776,400 in September, the ONS said.
Wage growth in the June to August period remained largely steady, the report showed.
Total earnings including bonuses rose by an annualized 2.3%, from 2.4% in the three months to July and in line with economists’ forecasts.
Excluding bonuses, earnings rose by 2.3% on a year-over-year basis, compared to expectations for a 2.1% increase.
The jobs report came one day after official data showing that the cost of living in the U.K. rose at the fastest rate in 22 months in September.
The U.K. consumer price index jumped to 1% in September, but the ONS said there was little explicit evidence that the weaker pound was pushing up prices.
Sterling has fallen around 20% against the dollar and around 16% against the euro in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.
The pound had slid against the dollar earlier in the day, following strong gains in the previous session on the back of reports that the U.K. parliament would have to ratify Britain's deal to exit the European Union.
Sterling was little changed against the euro, with EUR/GBP trading at 0.8924.