United Kingdom: The labor market continues to strengthen at the outset of Q3
According to the ONS, in May–July the unemployment rate registered 4.6%, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous rolling quarter. Experimental data for August showed that employment rose by 241,000 from July. Moreover, job vacancies were above pre-pandemic levels in August, and exceeded one million for the first time since records began.
The unemployment rate is still forecast to increase towards the end of the year as government labor market support is wound down, although the extension of the furlough scheme until end-September should delay the rise in unemployment and also limit the extent of the rise.