Investing.com - The U.K.'s unemployment rate held steady at a six-year low in April, underlining optimism over the strength of the labor market, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said that the rate of unemployment was unchanged at 5.5% in the three months to April, in line with expectations.
The report also showed that the claimant count fell by a seasonally adjusted 6,500 in May, compared to expectations for a decline of 12,300 people. April’s figure was revised to a drop of 7,800 people from a previously reported decline of 12,600.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5722 from around 1.5669 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7171 from 0.7198 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to modest losses. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.1%, the EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.1%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.25%, while Germany's DAX slumped 0.2%.