Chaos in employment statistics: What's going on with the Labour Force Survey?

from The Fraser of Allander Institute Podcast · host Allison Catalano, Hannah Randolph

ParticipantsDr Hannah Randolph - Fellow at the Fraser of Allander InstituteAllison Catalano - Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute and the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU)Time stamps(00:06) Introduction(01:20) What is the LFS and what are the issues it's been having? (6:57) Alternative data sources for understanding the labour market(18:23) Misunderstandings around what's happened in the post-pandemic labour market(19:39) ONS changes to improve the quality of the LFS(23:40) How poor employment statistics may impact local decision-making(27:49) Information about FAI 50th anniversary conference

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 22, 2025

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What this episode covers

Employment statistics are designed to tell us what's going on in the labour market, but problems with the Labour Force Survey since the pandemic have muddied the waters. FAI economists Hannah Randolph and Allison Catalano discuss the quality issues with the LFS in recent years and alternative indicators constructed from administrative data. They also talk about what the ONS has done to improve the quality of employment statistics, as well as the challenges posed for local decision-making.