People looking for work climbed by 21,000 to 1.7m in the three months through February, according to the Office for National Statistics.
That left the jobless rate unchanged at 5.1pc, as forecast by economists. Employment rose by 20,000, the weakest reading since June last year.
The figure also showed few signs of wage pressure. Pay- growth excluding bonuses was unchanged at 2.2pc in the latest three month.
Total pay moderated to 1.8pc from 2.1pc in the prior period, reflecting a sharp drop in financial-sector bonuses from a year earlier.
The figures come as the referendum on whether Britain should remain in the European Union looms.
The Bank of England has indicted it is no hurry to raise interest rates from a record low as some business survey indicate the EU vote is starting to weigh on investment and hiring intentions.
“It’s too soon to be certain, but with unemployment up for the first time since mid-2015 — and employment seeing its slowest rise since that period — it’s possible that recent improvements in the labor market may be easing off,” said ONS statistician Nick Palmer.
Jobless benefits, a narrower measure of unemployment, unexpectedly rose 6,700 in March, the first increase since August 2015. Economists had forecast a drop of 10,000. The jobless rate stayed at 2.1pc.
With inflation still far below the BOE’s 2pc target and the economy showing signs of slowing since the start of the year, officials are expected to keep the benchmark rate at 0.5pc until early next year, the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey showed.
In February alone, total pay rose just 1.1pc from a year earlier, the smallest increase since August 2014. Wage growth in the private sector slowed to 0.9pc on the month, and to 1.9pc in the three months through February. Both were the weakest since 2014.
Jeremy Cook, chief economist at the international payments company, World First, said: “It has long been said in corporate reports that revenue is vanity and profit reality and I think it is becoming clear that something similar is being seen in the UK labour market; that an ultra-low employment rate is vainglorious without a subsequent pick up in average earnings.”
Source: Telegraph
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