The exchange rate against the dollar is strong because the dollar is weak. The exchange rate against the euro is still as flat as a witch's tit. Unemployment is low because many millions of workers are either "self-employed" (meaning that the people they work for don't have to provide holiday pay, sick pay, maternity pay or national insurance), or on zero-hours contracts, or on bogus apprenticeships, or part-time whether they like it or not, or temporary, or seasonal. This all explains why productivity is so weak. Comment is free but facts are sacred.