Newsquawk Logo

UK Unemployment Rate (Dec) 5.2% vs. Exp. 5.1% (Prev. 5.1%, Low. 5.1%, High. 5.2%)

The UK unemployment rate has ticked up to 5.2%, slightly missing expectations while remaining stable month-on-month.

Newsquawk StaffPublished On the live feed at — 4 more headlines followed before this page went public
Newsquawk headlinesUTC

Adani Enterprises (ADANIENT ID) is reportedly to invest up to USD 100bln into AI data centres by 2035, according to Bloomberg

Antofagasta (ANTO LN) FY25 (USD): Revenue 8.62bln (exp. 8.50bln), EBITDA 5.20bln (exp. 5.15bln), Pretax profit 3.16bln (exp. 3.19bln), EBITDA margin 60.3% (exp. 61.2%), Dividend/shr 64.6c (prev. 31.4c Y/Y), Recommended final dividend of 48.0c

UK Unemployment Rate (Dec) 5.2% vs. Exp. 5.1% (Prev. 5.1%, Low. 5.1%, High. 5.2%)

Newsquawk Daily European Equity Opening News - 17th February 2026

Russian President's Aide said Russia, Iran and China sent ships to the Strait of Hormuz to participate in the "Security Belt 2026" exercise, Al Jazeera reports (as expected)

Open the platform and use it. The whole workspace is free to try, with no signup and no card. When you want the headlines arriving live instead of on a delay, Newsquawk Pro is £24.99 for 7 days.

Try the platform free
Free. No signup, no card.

ONS:

  • "The number of workers on payroll fell further in the final quarter of the year, reflecting weak hiring activity, although it is largely unchanged in the latest month. Over the same period the unemployment rate increased, with data showing that more people who are out of work are now actively looking for a job."
  • The number of vacancies has remained broadly stable since the middle of last year. Alongside rising unemployment this means that the number of unemployed people per vacancy has increased, reaching a new post-pandemic high. Meanwhile, redundancies are also showing an upward trend.
  • Private sector wage growth continues to slow and is at its lowest rate in five years. Public sector pay growth also slowed in the latest period but remains elevated, still affected by some pay awards being implemented earlier in 2025 than 2024, although this effect has now started to diminish.
Context

This increase indicates weak hiring activity and a growing number of job seekers, which could raise concerns about the labor market's health and prompt the Bank of England to be cautious about its monetary policy stance going forward.

External
External
External

Related headlines

The whole workspace, free to try.

Try it free
Newsquawk Logo

© 2026 Newsquawk. All rights reserved.