Stats body aims to publish key jobs data in late 2026

The UK’s official statistics body has set a target of November 2024 for the release of its flagship Labour Force Survey (LFS), which monitors the UK jobs market.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has been dogged by several troubles in data gathering, prompting criticism from the Bank of England as well as an intervention by the government. 

It previously suggested that the LFS would not be published until 2027, with policymakers and economists previously expecting it to release its key jobs data in mid-2025. 

The ONS still left the possibility of the reformed survey being published in 2027 open as it continued to work on plans to boost the number of respondents and reduce the burden put on people. 

The new design will see a ‘core’ jobs market survey be introduced that will take around 15 minutes rather than a full hour. 

Brits will also be able to respond online via a questionnaire, but the ONS said telephone and in-person interviews will still take place. 

Internal emails released to the Financial Times showed that just five people had responded to one question on the flagship survey, skewing data and prompting ONS economist Richard Keys to warn that there was “little and falling merit” in the LFS. 

The ONS is currently facing an investigation by a top civil servant in the Cabinet Office. Sir Robert Devereux, a retired civil servant, is leading the review of the body’s core statistics while Cabinet Office official Cat Little has been tasked with finding solutions. 

The Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill raised concerns about problems at the ONS last year, while Governor Andrew Bailey said the lack of reliable jobs data was a “substantial problem”.

The delay to the LFS is just one of the several issues it has come up against over the last year. 

Last month, the statistics body postponed the publication of key pricing data that is used to calculate GDP. 

Think tanks including the Resolution Foundation have subsequently used independent research to measure key data such as productivity in the UK.