UK wages rose by 2.9% in July, beat estimates

• The UK wages excluding bonuses rose by 2.9% y/y compared to 2.7% y/y expected.
• The UK wages including bonuses rose by 2.6% y/y compared to 2.4% y/y expected.
• The UK unemployment rate steadied at a four-decade low of 4.0% in July.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Tuesday, the UK’s average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses beat expectations, arriving at 2.9% 3m y/y versus 2.7% last and 2.8% expected while the gauge including bonuses ticked higher to 2.6% 3m y/y versus 2.4% previous and 2.4% expected.

The Kingdom’s official jobless rate steadied at 4.0% in July, while the claimant count change showed a smaller-than-expected increase.

The number of people claiming jobless benefits rose by 8.7k in August, against expectations of a 10.0k increase and +10.2k (revised from +6.2k) seen previously. The claimant count rate rose to 2.6%.