UPDATE: We are now entering the next phase of this work and are seeking user views. If you use labour market statistics or plan to use outputs based on the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS), we would very much welcome your feedback on the transformation so far via our online survey.
Background
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is in the process of improving labour market statistics through survey transformation and increasing the use of administrative data and other data sources. As part of this, ONS is seeking to improve the quality, coverage, adaptability and responsiveness of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to ensure it continues to meet user needs.
The LFS is the main household survey that provides labour market information in the UK. This is ONS’s largest regular household survey, outside of the Census, and has been running since the 1970s. It is used to provide the official estimates of employment and unemployment and the data collected from the LFS are published in a number of statistical publications, including the monthly ONS labour market overview, UK.
Over the last few years, ONS has been developing a different version of the LFS using an online-first multimode approach. This version has been running live since March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically affected the way survey data were collected, with organisations adapting their data collection and dissemination processes at pace. Face-to-face interviewing was suspended and the LFS moved to telephone only, which affected the response rate and representativeness of the achieved sample. There were concerns around the quality of the labour market estimates from the survey and ONS has worked since then to mitigate these impacts, whilst accelerating the survey transformation.
Our aim and approach
In parallel with ONS’s endeavours, we have agreed to review the transformation process of the LFS. The aim of our work is to ensure that the new survey continues to meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and value, in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. We will advise, challenge and support ONS and be fluid in our engagement and reporting, to ensure that any recommendations that we make are well timed and valuable. We are encouraged by ONS’s positivity and appetite to improve the LFS to meet changing user needs. We look forward to working with the team over the coming months.
Our first phase (started in April 2022) focused on the design and development work ONS had planned before transitioning over to the new survey approach. We published our initial findings in November 2022. In July 2023, we published an updated letter and progress report on our review of ONS’s transformation of the LFS (TLFS). We are now entering our third phase of this work which focuses on ONS’s engagement with users, its communication about its planned work and how ONS is assessing the quality and readiness of its transformed survey.
We are keen to speak with people and organisations who use data from the Labour Force Survey to understand more about the potential impact of the proposed changes. Please do get in touch if you are interested in sharing your views either via our online survey or by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk. .