What happened
Actual 4.7% came in below forecast 4.9%. Previous was 4.9%, now lower than that.
What it means
What percentage of job seekers don't have a job. A falling rate means a strong job market, a rising rate means a weak one.
High impact · 🇬🇧 GBP · Latest releaseGuide
UK Unemployment Rate
Released · Aug
Actual4.7%
Forecast4.9%
Previous4.9%
Next release
All times are shown in your own time zone.
What is this news
Unemployment rate: what percentage of job seekers don't have a job. Released by Office for National Statistics. This comes every month.
How important it is
For central banks, the job market is as important as inflation. It shows how much slack or pressure exists in the economy. This is a High impact event on FxGram: GBP pairs often see sharp moves at this time.
What this data does
Generally, if unemployment comes in below forecast, the job market is considered strong; if higher, it signals weakness and talk of rate cuts increases.
This is just general knowledge (textbook), not a prediction for this release. The market may react differently. This is not buy-sell advice.
Previous releases
| Date | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug | 4.7% | 4.9% | 4.9% |
| Jul | 4.9% | 5% | 4.9% |
| Jun | 4.9% | 4.8% | 4.9% |
| May | 4.9% | 5% | 4.9% |
| Apr | 4.9% | 5% | 5% |
| Mar | 5% | 4.9% | 4.9% |
| Feb | 4.9% | 5.2% | 5.2% |
| Jan | 5.2% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Dec | 5.2% | 5.1% | 5.1% |
| Nov | 5.1% | 5% | 5.1% |
| Oct | 5.1% | 5.1% | 5% |
| Sep | 5% | 4.9% | 4.8% |
| Aug | 4.8% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Jul | 4.7% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Jun | 4.7% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
Data: Office for National Statistics, via TradingView economic calendar.
See full calendar