UK Jobs Hit Record High As Bank Of England Weighs Up Rate Hike

• British employers increased their payrolls to a record high in September, shortly before the end of the government's wage subsidies scheme, potentially encouraging the Bank of England's progress towards a first post-pandemic interest rate hike. 
• The number of workers on companies' books rose by the most on record in data going back to 2014, up by 207,000 from August. 
• Employers turned to recruitment agencies to find staff and hotel and food firms created jobs as they recovered from COVID-19 lockdowns. 
• Separate official data published on Tuesday showed the unemployment rate edged down to 4.5% in the three months to August from 4.6% in the May-July period, as expected by economists in a Reuters poll. 
• The BoE is gearing up to become the first major central bank to raise rates since the coronavirus crisis struck. Inflation is heading towards 4% or higher, above its 2% target.

(Source: Reuters)