UK unemployment rate rises to 3.8%, first increase in over a year

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates again on Thursday as it tries to stop the recent jump in inflation from turning into a longer-term problem if employers resort to increasing their pay sharply to fill vacancies.

Britain's jobless rate rose for the first time since late 2020 and other measures of the country's hot labour market cooled, potentially easing inflation worries at the Bank of England which is due to raise rates again this week.

With surging inflation weighing on the economy's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, official data showed the jobless rate edged up to 3.8% in the three months to April from 3.7% in the previous labour market report for the three months to March.