In May, UK payrolled employees rose 0.1% mom or 23k. Comparing with the same month a year ago, payrolled employees rose 1.6% yoy or 460k. Median monthly pay rose 7.0% yoy, highest in the other service activities sector, with an increase of 10.1% yoy, and lowest in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, with an an increase of 5.4% yoy. Claimant count dropped -13.6k versus expectation of 21.4k.
In the three months to April, unemployment rate dropped to 3.8%, versus expectation of 4.0%. Average earnings excluding bonus accelerated from 6.8% to 7.2%, above expectation of 6.9%. Average earnings including bonus accelerated from 6.1% to 6.5%, above expectation of 6.1%.