File photo

LONDON, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The British unemployment rate was estimated at 3.8 percent in the three months since November 2019, unchanged from the previous three months from August to October, according to figures released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Figures showed that in September to November 2019, an estimated 1.31 million people were unemployed, 64,000 fewer than in the same period a year earlier and 618,000 fewer than five years earlier.

Meanwhile, the employment rate in Britain was estimated at a record high of 76.3 percent in this period, 0.6 percentage point higher than in the same period last year.

The employment rate for men was 80.4 percent, that for women 72.3 percent.

"The increase in the employment rate for women in recent years is partly a result of changes to the State Pension age for women, resulting in fewer women retiring between the ages of 60 and 65 years," said the ONS.

In addition, the number of paid employees across Britain in November 2019 increased by 1.1 percent, compared with the same period of the previous year.

Regarding the average salary, the median monthly pay for employees in November 2019 was 1,835 pounds (about 2,393 U.S. dollars), an increase of 3.1 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

"The rate of growth in median pay has generally increased over the past five years," said the ONS.

Filip Lipev, a quantitative economist at UBS, said "the unemployment rate remains unchanged, at 3.8 percent. The MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) may not be impressed and still push for a rate cut this month."

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club, an economics forecasting group, said "the latest UK labor market shows remarkable strength given soft economic activity and heightened uncertainties in Q4 2019."

"The 208,000 jump in UK employment in the three months to November and stabilizing earnings growth after a recent dip markedly reinforces the case for BOE (Bank of England) MPC to hold off from cutting interest rates on January 30," Archer said.