Brexit uncertainty appears to be finally affecting Britain's labor market, which has been relatively resilient over the past three years in spite of a slowdown in economic growth.
The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that the number of people in work dropped by 56,000 in the three months to August from the previous three-month period, to 32.69 million. That's the biggest decline since the spring of 2015.
The number of people unemployed rose by 22,000 during the period 1.31 million, lifting the jobless rate to 3.9% from 3.8%. Job vacancies were also at their lowest level for nearly two years.
In another sign of weakness, earnings growth including bonuses slowed to 3.8% in the three months to August from the year before, from the 3.9% rate recorded in July.
"The Brexit-related slump in corporate confidence finally has taken its toll on the labor market," said Samuel Tombs, chief U.K. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
Since Britain voted to leave the EU in June 2016, the labor market has been strong as firms have opted to cut investment rather than staff. However, a decline in confidence in the past few months as the country grapples with Brexit seems to be taking its toll.
Some of the uncertainty could be lifted in coming days if Prime Minister Boris Johnson secures a Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU. Should any deal be backed by lawmakers, Britain could be on track to finally leave the EU by the scheduled Brexit data at the end of this month, if not slightly later.
Though the long-term trading relationship with the EU would still need to be negotiated, a near-term Brexit deal would mean Britain avoids a chaotic exit that most economists think would cause big economic difficulties.
Others in Parliament are hoping they can use the Brexit standoff to push through another referendum on Britain's membership in the hope that the country votes to remain in the bloc and ensuring frictionless trade with the EU.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed satisfaction on Monday after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor.
Candidates from his pro-European Union centrist Civic Coalition, or running with the party's backing, won in a series of cities in the second round of local elections held on Sunday, among them Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Rzeszow.
“It is very difficult to clearly say who won and who lost,” Tusk said Monday. “But if we compare these results, especially in the most attractive places, on these attractive battlefields ... then I actually have reasons for satisfaction.”
“Law and Justice has simply disappeared in many places,” Tusk added at a news conference, referring to the main opposition party.
The results put Civic Coalition in a favorable position as the country looks next to elections to the European Parliament on June 9.
Mayors were chosen in a total of 748 cities and towns where no single candidate won at least 50% of the vote during the first round on April 7.
Candidates for Tusk’s party also recaptured cities where they had not held power for many years, including Zielona Gora, Legnica and Torun.
The local and regional elections were viewed as a test for Tusk's pro-European Union government four months after it took power at the national level. Sunday's second round strengthened the Tusk government's leverage in the cities, which should facilitate cooperation on development projects and allotment of EU funds.
Tusk's allies also won in some places in the first round two weeks ago, including in Warsaw, where incumbent Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski was an easy victor.
In the first round, the right-wing Law and Justice, prevailed on the level of regional assemblies in the country's 16 provinces, where it took 34.3% of the votes, while Tusk's Civic Coalition got 30.6%. Law and Justice governed on the national level from 2015-23.
Tusk’s socially liberal Civic Coalition traditionally has strong support in cities, while Law and Justice has a more solid base in conservative rural areas, particularly in eastern Poland.
Civic Coalition is the largest group in a three-party coalition that governs the EU nation of 38 million people. The coalition is pro-European Union but otherwise spans a wide ideological spectrum with left-wing politicians in the Left party as well as conservatives in the Third Way.
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Campaign posters promote candidates as Poles vote in local and regional elections in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Polish voters take part in a local runoff election in Lomianki, near Warsaw, Poland on Sunday, April 21, 2024. Voters are choosing mayors who did not win outright in the first round of the election two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacts during his and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with students in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)
FILE - Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk listens to the media in Berlin, Germany, Friday, March 15, 2024. Tusk is celebrating a victory on Monday April 22, 2024 after a series of candidates supported by his party won weekend races for mayor. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
