August Labour Market Update

Unemployment rates remained unchanged - what does this mean for Mark Carney's 7 per cent unemployment target?

Briefing published on 14 August 2013 by Paul Swinney

The labour market figures have taken on extra significance now that Mark Carney, the new Bank of England Governor, has committed to not changing the base interest rate until unemployment has fallen below 7 per cent.

This month’s data suggests that there won’t be a change in the rate (which has remained unchanged at a historic low of 0.5 per cent for over four years now) any time soon.

Unemployment fell by 4,000 people and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.8 per cent. Page 2 looks at the stability in unemployment in recent years, while page 3 looks at which cities have unemployment rate above the 7 per cent threshold.

Labour market update, latest data tables: