U.K. Jobless Rate Falls Amid Signs Labor Market May be Cooling
Despite the U.K. jobless rate being at its lowest since 2005, many economists are concerned with a slowing of the labor market. Unemployment is currently at 4.8%, a 0.1% decrease from last quarter. However, the number of new jobs is slowing: there were only 49,000 workers added to the labor market compared to the 172,000 over the last three months. As the inflation of the pound continues to increase, there will likely be an increase in pressure on real wages. Many economists posit that the rise in inflation, which could be as high as 4% over the next year, has resulted from the Brexit vote to leave.
See "U.K. Jobless Rate Falls Amid Signs Labor Market May be Cooling", Scott Hamilton, Bloomberg, November 17, 2016