UK labour market data strengthens case for BoE rate rise

Companies added 160,000 more people to their payrolls in October, while vacancies surged to a record high, according to data released. The figures suggest very few of the 1.1 million workers who were on furlough became unemployed when the programme finished in September.

LONDON: The United Kingdom labour market strengthened after the government’s benefit programme for those out of work in the pandemic came to an end, bolstering the case for the Bank of England (BoE) to raise interest rates as soon as next month.

Companies added 160,000 more people to their payrolls in October, while vacancies surged to a record high, according to data released. The figures suggest very few of the 1.1 million workers who were on furlough became unemployed when the programme finished in September.