GBP/CAD is surging on Tuesday, recovering the losses suffered since last Friday almost entirely.
GBP/CAD is now trading at 1.7281, up 0.40% as of 9:30 AM UTC.
The pound accelerated its morning gains after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the number of workers in the UK jumped again in the fourth quarter of 2019, despite the slowing economy.
GBP/CAD up amid optimistic UK employment data
The number of UK citizens in work surged 180,000 to 32.934 million, while analysts expected on average an increase by 145,000. The good news is that full-time employment account for the greatest part of the growth. Self-employment demonstrated significant improvement as well.
The ONS’ latest report is vital because two out of nine Bank of England’s (BoE) policymakers cited signs of weakness in the labor market when they voted in favor of an interest rate cut last year.
The ONS data showed that the number of unemployed declined by 16,000 to 1.290 million, with the unemployment rate maintaining at 3.8%, which is the lowest level since 1975.
Employers became more confident in the three months to January when it comes to hiring. Vacancies during this period rose to 810,000, which is the highest since the three months to September 2019.
Nevertheless, growth in wages has slowed. Growth in total earnings, including bonuses, rose 2.9% year-on-year, which is the weakest performance since the three months to August 2018. Growth in salaries without bonuses slowed to 3.2%, the worst performance since the third quarter of 2018. Analysts anticipated the total pay and regular pay to grow by 3.0% and 3.3%, respectively.
ONS statistician Myrto Miltiadou commented:
“In real terms, regular earnings have finally risen above the level seen in early 2008, but pay including bonuses is still below its pre-downturn peak.”
In another positive development for the sterling, Britain’s newly-appointed finance minister Rishi Sunak announced earlier today that the budget date would not be postponed but will stay on March 11. Former minister Sajid Javid surprisingly resigned last week, sparking rumors that the budget delivery would be delayed. However, Sunak denied those speculations in a tweet:
“Cracking on with preparations for my first Budget on March 11. It will deliver on the promises we made to the British people – levelling up and unleashing the country’s potential.”
