What's going on?

New data released on Tuesday showed UK employment hitting a record high across December, January, and February.

What does this mean?

There were more people working in the UK between December and the end of February than ever before � thanks in part to more women joining the office party. But it was bittersweet: those women may be working out of necessity as the UK female state pension age increases from 60 to 65, meaning fewer retirees between those ages.


Average wages were 3.4% higher than a year ago � and, importantly, they rose faster than the prices of British goods and services. All else equal, therefore, the average Brit should now have a little extra cash burning a hole in their pocket.

Why should I care?

For markets: The fading Brexit specter may alleviate some tension.

With the UK�s exit from the European Union now delayed (potentially until October), consumers whose confidence in the economy was shaken by the prospect of a no-deal departure may now feel more confident spending their extra income. As the world�s fifth-largest economy, a pickup in British consumer spending could spell good news for companies around the world. America�s PayPal and eBay in particular make a significant proportion of their sales in the country, and should benefit from greater revenues if consumers spend more. And as the eurozone�s second-largest export destination, higher UK spending should bode well for European companies too.

Zooming out: Germany�s a stick-in-the-mud.

A persistently weak German manufacturing industry may shortly force its government to slash economic growth forecasts. And the German economy�s precarious position wasn�t helped by homegrown airline Lufthansa warning investors late on Monday that its first-quarter loss would be even worse than expected, partly thanks to rising fuel costs. Consumers once again offered Germany some respite, however: Europe�s largest online fashion retailer, Zalando, bucked the trend set by rival ASOS and announced a surprise quarterly profit � helping its stock rise 10% on Tuesday.