U.K.’s Lockdown Jobless Rate Was Probably Higher Than Estimated

U.K. unemployment data covering the months of the pandemic could be revised higher after the Office for National Statistics identified that restrictions to control the coronavirus led to a quirk in their collection methods.

With researchers no longer being able to knock on doors to collect data, the ONS found its survey included a higher proportion of owner occupiers, and fewer renters, than before the crisis, leading to a potentially less representative sample. As a result, past and future releases covering employment, unemployment and economic inactivity will be reweighted.