U.K. Unemployment Falls as Jobs Market Nears `Full Capacity'
- Basic wage growth cools unexpectedly to 2.6% in fourth quarter
- Uncertainty about Brexit may take a toll on U.K. hiring
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U.K. unemployment declined and a measure of the number of people in work rose to a record, pushing the labor market closer to “full capacity,” according to the statistics office.
The number of jobless fell 7,000 in the fourth quarter to 1.6 million people, leaving the unemployment rate at 4.8 percent, the lowest in more than a decade. Employment increased by 37,000 to 31.8 million, and the rate rose to a record 74.6 percent, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.