Introduction

On 13 February 2024, ONS re-introduced its LFS-derived Labour Market statistics following their suspension in October 2023 due to quality concerns. In the interim (October 2023–January 2024), ONS published experimental estimates using alternative data sources. OSR carried out a short review of these estimates against the Code of Practice for Statistics and published its findings in November 2023.

Following the re-introduction of the LFS-derived estimates, OSR committed to carrying out a further review against the Code ahead of the transition to the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS). This report sets out our findings from this short review. It is not a full assessment against the Code of Practice for Statistics, which OSR would usually carry out with a view to awarding the designation of accredited official statistics. In line with our Official Statistics policy, it falls to ONS to determine whether or not the ‘in development’ label should be removed from the statistics and to formally ask OSR to carry out a full assessment for the statistics to become accredited.

This report outlines the actions that we consider are necessary for ONS to take to ensure that the labour market estimates published between now and the transition to the Transformed LFS are as good as they can be, taking into account the context and user need. As part of this review, we have also provided a judgement against the requirements made of ONS when we reviewed the experimental estimates. These are provided in Annex A.

We intend to report on progress against this review’s requirements in summer 2024, depending on ONS’s progress against its current timetable and any issues that may arise.