Investing.com - The jobless rate in the U.K. surprised with a slight drop to a fresh 11-year low in January, while wage inflation slowed more than expected, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said that the rate of unemployment dropped to a hit a new 11-year low of 4.7% in the three months to January, beating expectations for it to remain steady at the prior 4.8%.
The claimant count decreased by a seasonally adjusted 11,300 in February, compared to expectations for a decline of 5,000 people and following a fall of 41,400 a month earlier, whose figure was revised from a previously reported reduction of 42,400.
Meanwhile, the average earnings index, including bonuses, rose by a seasonally adjusted 2.2% in the three months to January, compared to forecasts for it to decline to only a 2.4% increase after rising 2.6% in the prior month.
Excluding bonuses, wages rose by 2.3%, missing forecasts for a 2.5% gain and compared to a 2.6% increase in the three months to January.
Following the report, GBP/USD traded at 1.2200 from around 1.2228 ahead of the release of the data, EUR/GBP was at 0.8714 from 0.8694 earlier, while GBP/JPY exchanged hands at 139.83 compared to 140.89 prior to the release.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.27%, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.34%, France's CAC 40 advanced 0.20%, while Germany's DAX traded up 0.12%.