British unemployment rate holds at six-year low of 6%

[LONDON] Britain's unemployment rate held at 6.0 per cent in the quarter to the end of September, remaining at its lowest level since late 2008, official data showed Wednesday.

The rate for the July-September period was unchanged from the three months to the end of August, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

That missed market expectations for a drop to 5.9 per cent, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

The number of unemployed meanwhile sank by 529,000 from a year earlier to 1.96 million people - which was the lowest figure since the start of 2014.

And the ONS also revealed that average earnings grew in real terms, outpacing the inflation rate for the first time since 2009.

Average weekly wages excluding bonuses rose 1.3 per cent in the three months to September compared with a year earlier.

Recent official data showed that Britain's inflation rate slowed to a five-year low of 1.2 per cent in September.

AFP