The Office for National Statistics announced on Monday that Britain’s unemployment rate in late last year was much lower than previously thought. The re-weighted survey results, which were cited by the office, might further contribute to the Bank of England’s caution regarding the swift reduction of interest rates.
The new data reveals an unemployment rate of 3. 9% in the three months leading up to November. This is in contrast to the temporary, experimental figure of 4. 2% provided by the ONS last month.
The Bank of England (BoE) is closely monitoring Britain’s labor market as it assesses whether inflationary pressures in the economy have sufficiently eased to warrant a reduction in its benchmark interest rate. Currently standing at 5. 25%, the rate is the highest it has been in nearly 16 years.
Over the same period, the ONS estimated Britain’s inactivity rate to be 21.9%, which is an increase from 20.8%. This rate measures people who are out of work and not actively looking for employment.
The newly estimated re-weighted employment rate is 75. 0%, compared to 75. 8% in the experimental series.
The latest estimates of the population by the ONS are utilized to re-weight its Labour Force Survey (LFS).
In October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suspended the publication of official Labour Force Survey (LFS) data due to low response rates following the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they have released experimental estimates based on tax and other data sources.
The ONS plans to launch its improved LFS survey later this year.
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