Treasury Committee takes aim at ONS on labour force data

Issues with Labour Force Survey

The Treasury Committee has warned it has major concerns about the UK's ability to set monetary and fiscal policy due to unreliable data on the labour market from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The concerns were raised by Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury Committee, in a public letter to the UK Statistics Authority regarding the accuracy of the ONS' Labour Force Survey (LFS). Concerns about the validity of the LFS have dogged the data provider for years, with the LFS estimates due to be published in October 2023 suspended because of quality concerns. BoE chief economist Huw Pill slams ONS for inadequate jobs data The alarm was raised again earlier this month by the Office for Budget Responsibility's Professor David Miles who told who told the Treasury Committee on 5 Nove...