The European markets moved lower on Tuesday, suggesting little attention was paid to the UK’s jobs update.
For the 3 months to February the unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, better than the steady 5.0% forecast by analysts.
There was a similar beat in the more up-to-date claimant count change number, which came in at 10.5k against the 24.5k expected and nasty 86.6k seen the month prior.
In contrast the average earnings index disappointed, unexpectedly falling faster the estimated, from 4.8% to 4.5%.
There were also some hidden negatives if you dug into the report, including news that 56,000 workers were dropped from payroll in March, taking the total in the last 12 months to 813,000.
Though on the surface the numbers look broadly positive, the knowledge that furlough is acting as the final line of defence against a potential jobs disaster appears to have undermined faith in this morning’s figures.
The FTSE 0.4% decline was in line with what was seen in the Eurozone, where the DAX dropped 0.3% and the CAC tumbled 0.7%.
And the pound was taking a breather after yesterday’s gains. GBP/USD was unchanged at a one-month-plus high of $1.3988, while against the euro sterling was down 0.3% to €1.1593.
As for the US open, following a 0.35%, 120-point drop, last night, the Dow Jones is expected to re-cross 34,100 with a 0.1% increase this afternoon.
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