Investing.com - The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. declined less than expected in April while the country’s jobless rate ticked lower, according to data released on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said that the claimant count fell by a seasonally adjusted 12,600 last month, compared to expectations for a decline of 20,000.
March’s figure was revised to a drop of 16,700 people from a previously reported decline of 20,700.
The report also showed that the unemployment rate ticked down to 5.5% in the three months to March, in line with forecasts from 5.6% in the previous three month period.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5727 from around 1.5684 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7135 from 0.7155 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly higher. London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.69%, France's CAC 40 was up 1.27%, while Germany's DAX added 0.77%.