In the UK, unemployment data showed again a mixed picture. In September, jobless claims rose only by 17 500, while an increase by 24 000 was expected. The previous figure was downwardly revised from 20 300 to 19 100. In September, UK jobless claims surprised for a second straight month on the downside of expectations. The ILO unemployment rate, on the contrary, picked up from 7.7% to 8.1% in the June to August as the number of people unemployed rose by 114 000 to a total level of 2.57 million, the highest level since October 1994. Especially worrying is the high level of youth unemployment, which jumped to 991 000, the highest level since records started in 1992. Wage growth remained subdued as average weekly earnings growth slowed to 2.8% Y/Y (from 2.9% Y/Y) and weekly earnings excluding bonus rose only by 1.8% Y/Y (from 2.1% Y/Y). The weak ILO data were eye-catching and raised fears that youth unemployment will rise above the psychologically important 1 million level in the coming months. Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne pledged however to maintain the biggest fiscal squeeze since World War II, which will erase more than 300 000 public jobs in the coming months.