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Out for the Count: A Social Scientist's Analysis of Unemployment Statistics in the UK

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  • Paul Gregg

Abstract

The validity of UK unemployment statistics was the focus of intense debate through the 1980s and again in 1992. This mainly concerned whether they were open to politically motivated manipulation. to some extent this argument has missed a wider point. Frequent changes of coverage and consistency between sources of information which provide measures of unemployment have led to a paucity of data that are suitable for social scientific study with its implied costs to our understanding of unemployment over the last 15 years. It is hoped that an increasing reliance on specifically designed survey techniques, rather than measures based on benefit administration data, will overcome many of these problems for the 1990s. The design of the Labour Force Survey should take on board the questions raised by social scientists. In particular, the shortage of available work should be measured by the broader indicators of social distress as well as the identification of excess labour supply in the labour market.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Gregg, 1994. "Out for the Count: A Social Scientist's Analysis of Unemployment Statistics in the UK," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 157(2), pages 253-270, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:157:y:1994:i:2:p:253-270
    DOI: 10.2307/2983361
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    Cited by:

    1. Christina Beatty & Stephen Fothergill, 2004. "Economic Change and the Labour Market in Britain's Seaside Towns," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(5), pages 459-478.
    2. Bottazzi, Laura & Manasse, Paolo, 2005. "Asymmetric Information and Monetary Policy in Common Currency Areas," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 37(4), pages 603-621, August.
    3. Calvin Jones, 2000. "The Estimation of Rates of Unemployment for Small Spatial Units," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 15(2), pages 144-158, July.
    4. Stutzer, Alois, 2020. "Happiness and public policy: a procedural perspective," Behavioural Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 210-225, July.
    5. Hina Amber & Bezawit Beyene Chichaibelu, 2023. "Patterns and Causes of Female Labor Force Participation: An Age–Period–Cohort Analysis for Pakistan," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(2), pages 1-31, April.
    6. Nadir Ocal & Denise R. Osborn, 2000. "Business cycle non-linearities in UK consumption and production," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 15(1), pages 27-43.
    7. Rob Euwals & Marike Knoef & Daniel Vuuren, 2011. "The trend in female labour force participation: what can be expected for the future?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 729-753, May.
    8. Gert Thielemans & Dimitri Mortelmans, 2019. "Female Labour Force Participation After Divorce: How Employment Histories Matter," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 180-193, June.
    9. Christina Beatty & Stephen Fothergill, 2002. "Hidden Unemployment Among Men: A Case Study," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(8), pages 811-823.
    10. R Martin & P Sunley, 1999. "Unemployment Flow Regimes and Regional Unemployment Disparities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 31(3), pages 523-550, March.
    11. Christina Beatty & Steve Fothergill, 2023. "The persistence of hidden unemployment among incapacity claimants in large parts of Britain," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 38(1), pages 42-60, February.
    12. Rob Euwals & Marike Knoef & Daniel Vuuren, 2011. "The trend in female labour force participation: what can be expected for the future?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 729-753, May.
    13. Fuchs, Johann & Weber, Brigitte, 2010. "Umfang und Struktur der westdeutschen Stillen Reserve : Aktualisierte Schätzungen (Extent and structure of the hidden labour force in Western German)," IAB-Forschungsbericht 201011, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].

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