UK unemployment rate falls to 4.9% and wages grow more than expected

Economy The Guardian By Phillip Inman 18 Jun 2026 07:55 1 min read

Drop will put pressure on Bank of England to raise interest rates despite peace deal in Iran war Business live – latest updates Unemployment fell and wages increased in April, official figures showed, putting pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates despite a peace deal in the Middle East. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed unemployment slipped to 4.9% in the three months to April from 5% in the three months to March. Continue reading...

Drop will put pressure on Bank of England to raise interest rates despite peace deal in Iran war

Business live – latest updates

Unemployment fell and wages increased in April, official figures showed, putting pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates despite a peace deal in the Middle East.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed unemployment slipped to 4.9% in the three months to April from 5% in the three months to March.

Read the full story on The Guardian → Opens the original article on www.theguardian.com

Summary aggregated from The Guardian's public RSS feed. The full reporting belongs to The Guardian — please read it on their site.