Annex
Update on OSR judgements: OSR’s review of experimental Labour Market Statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Requirement
ONS should publish detailed information setting out how and why it decided to withdraw the LFS data (including explaining why it was suitable for previous releases and not anymore)
Actions taken and commitments made by ONS to meet the requirement
This requirement has been met through the information published in an accompanying methodology article.
Judgement
This requirement has been met.
Requirement
ONS should publish detailed information clearly setting out for users what LFS data is being used as the base to apply the growth rates calculated from the PAYE RTI and Claimant Count data under this new experimental method.
Actions taken and commitments made by ONS to meet the requirement
In the November release, the new method is highlighted upfront, and a clear link to the methods article, which is again even clearer on what the base LFS data used are and what is applied to these base data, is provided.
Judgement
This requirement has been met.
Requirement
ONS should publish detailed information explaining why it used the Claimant Count and PAYE RTI data to contribute to an alternative measure. This should include the strengths, limitations, and appropriate use of the alternative measure and why these data sources were chosen in preference to other labour market data sources such as Workforce Jobs. ONS should also set out the extent to which Claimant Count and PAYE RTI are appropriate proxies for the concepts being measured to aid understanding of quality and support appropriate use and clearly link these from published releases.
Actions taken and commitments made by ONS to meet the requirement
This requirement has been met through the information published in accompanying methodology article.
ONS has also taken this feedback into account when reintroducing LFS-derived data. One of the graphs in the methods article published on 5 February to support the reintroduction of reweighted LFS data compares reweighted RTI and LFS data. It shows the extra volatility inherent in the LFS data versus the RTI data. This then supports ONS’s message about how to use the data and feeds into the trade-offs ONS has made in deciding to reintroduce the LFS data.
Judgement
This requirement has been met.
Requirement
ONS should publish suitable information on the methodology underpinning the new experimental method, its approach to quality assurance (including its assurance of the quality of the LFS data used) and whether international standards are being met.
Actions taken and commitments made by ONS to meet the requirement
The methods article is clear on the methodology used. It links to the plans to improve the quality of LFS, and an explanation of why April–June 2023 data are suitable to use as a base.
It is clear in the Employment in the UK release that international definitions are being met, and there was some discussion of this in the methods article published on 5 February.
Judgement
This requirement has been met.
Requirement
ONS should ensure that its communication supports the use of the statistics, is easily accessible for users and is transparent about the evidence base supporting any assertions made.
Actions taken and commitments made by ONS to meet the requirement
More information has been provided in the November release and methodology article compared to the information provided in October. The information about the evidence base and strengths and weaknesses of the data and future improvement plans seems much more coherent and complete.
Judgement
We will continue to monitor this through the transition.
Requirement
When publishing any other indicative labour market data, including from the TLFS, ONS should include information on its quality, purpose, and use and limitations that helps users understand what they can and cannot use these data for.
Actions taken and commitments made by ONS to meet the requirement
ONS has agreed to implement clearer signposting around the published user request for TLFS data, and in response to increased media coverage of the user request, ONS has published this statement making it clear to users that the TLFS data are both indicative and experimental and that no weight should be put upon them.
Judgement
This requirement has been met.
Requirement
ONS should identify what lessons can be learnt to more effectively and transparently manage and pre-empt quality issues in the future, including balancing transformation and ongoing production.
Actions taken and commitments made by ONS to meet the requirement
ONS has made publishing high-quality published statistics on employment one of its key priorities for 2024/25.
Judgement
We will continue to monitor this through the transition.