Dear Alex, Liz
Review of reintroduction of LFS-derived Labour Market Statistics (produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS))
We welcome ONS setting out its rationale to reintroduce planned LFS-derived labour market statistics. We have begun a short review of these statistics (published on 13 February 2024) against key elements of the Code of Practice for Statistics.
We expect that the review will cover the following areas:
- The suitability of the revised methodology (based on reintroduced LFS-derived data) and quality assurance approach to produce headline labour market estimates
- Clarity of communication around the improvements made to date and those that are still planned
- The choices ONS faced in reintroducing LFS based estimates and how these impact on the use of the statistics
- The extent to which ONS is meeting users’ needs and supporting users
- Further actions planned to improve the quality of the LFS during the transition period to the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS)
We recognise the effort that ONS is making to improve the Labour Force Survey and look forward to reviewing its progress. We intend to share and publish findings as soon as we have completed our analysis and due diligence. My team will be in touch to discuss in further detail.
Yours sincerely,
Ed Humpherson
Director General for Regulation