Unemployment rate rises to 3.8, first increase in over a year
Inactivity rate edges down
Jobs growth beats forecasts but falls in April alone
Real wages eroded by inflation again
Sterling and bond yields slip after data

LONDON, June 14 Reuters Britain39;s jobless rate rose for the first time since late 2020 and other measures of the country39;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 economy39;s recovery from the COVID19 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.

The increase was the first since the last three months of 2020. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate to fall to 3.6.

The rise partly reflected a drop in the economic inactivity rate for workingage adults, which measures people who have dropped out of the labour market altogether and therefore had not shown up as unemployed.

It fell by 0.1 percentage points to 21.3 for the February to April period, driven mostly by students seeking work.

We may be nearing a turning point for the labour market as creeping uncertainty results in employers taking their foot off the accelerator, Jack Kennedy, an economist at recruitment website Indeed, said.

Although growth in vacancies slowed, they hit a new record high and the fall in the…