An increase in economic inactivity in the UK because Covid is original, says the head of ONS

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Growth of economic inactivity in the UK because pandemic is not an illusion created by defective data, said the head of the National Statistics Office, in his first public defense of the Agency in solving a deep existence with key research.

Sir Ian Diamond, a national statistician in the UK, told MPs Tuesday that ONS was “very confident” in official data showing an increase because it is okay of some 2.8 million people or in business, or in search of work, guided by poor health.

Politics donors are unable to put any weight on the figures based on FillingCurrently, the workforce survey is because it is a sharp decline in the rate of response, which led to bias in the results, made it unreliable.

Ministers have previously seen an increase in inactivity – unique to Britain among developed economies – as a key limit to economic growth and factors that stimulate inflation.

But independent research has bring doubt The Bank of England also said that she was no longer convinced that since the beginning of 2020, there had been an increase in overall inactivity.

Diamond said that, despite problems with the survey, he was convinced of the overall trend, which was in line with the records of the fees she kept, and reflected the aligned efforts of the Antessor’s poll to reach people in more deprived areas.

“Please please don’t think I’m self -sufficient. At night, I wake up worrying about it all the time, “said the Committee to select a Treasury Select Home.

The Diamond role in dismantling the labor market in the UK was under sharp supervision, after an internal examination that took ons ​​that turned their attention to a Lack of strategic leadership And the inner culture that made the staff at lower levels reluctantly causes concern.

Diamond, in the post since 2019, told MPs that the decline in the LFS response rate was long -term concern, which ONS “watched very, very carefully and controlling”. But he said he became aware of the fragility of the survey only in October 2023, when his agency suddenly withdrew the announcement of the results that were obviously amazing.