Money Minute Monday 20 January: another busy week for the UK economy

published 20 January 2020

It’s another busy week for UK economic data. Tomorrow, we get the latest unemployment figures. The two numbers to keep an eye on are the unemployment rate and the figure for annual wage growth. Wages have been rising at a healthy clip of more than 3% a year, which is significantly higher than inflation. Unemployment meanwhile, continues to hover near all-time lows. Then on Wednesday, we have the latest on public sector borrowing. On the corporate front, retailers giving their updates on Christmas trading include Dixons Carphone Warehouse and WH Smith.

In the eurozone on Thursday, we get the latest interest rate decision from the European Central Bank, and on Wednesday, we get the same from the Canadian central bank. Both banks are expected to remain on hold. And over in Australia on Thursday, we get the employment data for December. The Aussie economy has had a wobbly few years, given its dependence on China. That said, it has so far avoided recession.