Inflation Up, Claimant Count Up, Unemployment Down

The UK’s key inflation rate has climbed to 3%. Consumer Price Index (CPI) is at its highest for more than 5 years.

This will, of course, continue to fuel the debate on the likelihood of an increase in interest rates, currently at 0.25%. Another debate it is likely to reignite is that of the young vs. old financial disparity.

In this regard, the figure is significant because state pension payments from April 2018 will rise in line with September's CPI. Under the "triple lock" guarantee, the basic state pension rises by a rate equal to September's CPI rate, earnings growth or 2.5%, whichever is the greatest.

The greatest in this instance being 3%. Wages, of course, are not growing at the same pace.

It is also worth noting that business rates will go up by September's Retail Prices Index (RPI) of 3.9%.

Image: Unemployment, June - August 2017

UK unemployment fell by 52,000 in the three months to August to 1.4 million, leaving the jobless rate unchanged at 4.3% from the previous quarter.

The unemployment rate is still at the joint lowest level since 1975, although the claimant count increased by 1,700 to 804,100 last month.

People are struggling to find employment because of their age, ethnicity, disability, or where they live and poverty is rising. 

Image: Employment up, June - August 2017