The UK employment and earnings report was released earlier this morning. Despite Brexit, earnings have been extremely strong in Britain, increasing by 4.0% up to July. Although they cooled off a bit in August to 3.8%, that’s still a very strong number. Today’s figures were sort of mixed though. Below are the numbers from the earnings and employment report:

• UK September average weekly earnings +3.6% vs +3.8% 3m/y expected
• Prior +3.8%; revised to +3.7%
• Average weekly earnings (ex bonus) +3.6% vs +3.8% 3m/y expected
• Prior +3.8%
• ILO unemployment rate 3.8% vs 3.9% expected
• Prior 3.9%
• Employment change -58k vs -102k expected
• Prior -52k

Earnings cooled off once again in September to 3.6%, although this is still a very decent figure. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 3.8% from 3.9% previously, but employment declined by 52k, which is the biggest fall in the three months to May 2015. So, this report shows a bit of a contrast, with unemployment rate falling, but so are wages and new jobs. GBP/USD lost around 40 pips after this report.