The U.K. currency jumped against the dollar on Wednesday after data showed that Britain’s jobless rate hit a new seven year low, falling to 5.4% in the three month to August.
The number of people out of work fell by 79,000 in the last quarter, taking the jobless total down to 1.774 million, said the Office for National Statistics.
Britain’s employment rate has risen to 73.6%, the highest since comparable records began in 1971.
Wage growth keeps outpacing inflation, but not by as much as expected. Basic pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 2.8% annually in the three months to August. That’s a slight fall compared to the 2.9% recorded a month earlier. Economists had expected a rise to 3%. Total earnings, including bonuses, climbed by 3%.
The British currency jumped after the news with GBP/USD last seen at 1.5351, up 0.67%. The euro dipped 0.40% against sterling with EUR/GBP last seen at 0.7432.
