UK Loses Fewer Jobs Than Expected, Clouding Path to Rate-Cut

Britain’s jobs market appears to be past the worst with a smaller-than-expected drop in payrolls last month, further complicating the Bank of England’s decision over whether to carry on cutting interest rates.

The Office for National Statistics reported an 8,353 decline in employee numbers in July — the smallest fall since January. That will bring some relief for Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who has presided over a 165,000 tumble in payrolls since October when she used her first budget to hike taxes and deliver another big rise in the minimum wage. Both took effect in April.