UK payrolled employment fell by 26,000 to 30.2 million in August 2026, following a revised 19,000 decline in July and exceeding economists’ expectation for a 5,000 reduction. The data marked a seventh consecutive monthly fall and weighed on sentiment ahead of Thursday’s Bank of England interest-rate decision. Unemployment remained at 4.9% in the three months to July, while regular pay excluding bonuses rose 3.5% year-on-year to £705 per week, unchanged from the previous period. The FTSE 100 traded more than 0.5% lower after gaining 0.4% in the previous session, with rising oil prices and weak employment data pressuring markets. HSBC Holdings, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group fell between 0.7% and 2.1%, while Rio Tinto, Glencore and Anglo American declined 1.5%, 2% and 1.1%, respectively, as gold, silver and copper prices weakened. Separately, employment rose by 67,000 to 34.478 million in the three months to July, the smallest increase since February, while public-sector pay growth reached 6.3%, private-sector growth remained at 2.9%, and real regular pay increased 0.6%.