Britain’s unemployment rate has reached the highest level since August 2021.
The Office for National Statistics said this this Tuesday, saying the rate climbed to 4.5 percent in the first quarter, compared with 4.4 percent for the three months to the end of February.
The data covers the period before April’s introduction of a hike to a business tax laid out in the Labour government’s maiden budget in October.
It also comes before a baseline 10-percent tariff imposed on the UK and other countries by US President Donald Trump last month.
Analysts say the data would likely see the Bank of England cut its key interest rate a further two times this year, having reduced borrowing costs twice already in 2025.