There are several significant data gaps in the provision of Labour Market Information (LMI) in the UK. Our research wills how how these gaps can be filled using novel data sources, both administrative and web-based, and cutting-edge methods. We will focus on gaps in producing labour accounts, in particular hours worked, informed by results from Time Use Surveys. In the run up to the next System of National Accounts (SNA) revisions, particular attention has been given to measuring labour markets, with the recommendation that labour accounts should be included within the central framework, with its own chapter in the SNA (SNA advisory expert group, 2021). This corrects a current imbalance whereby capital is in the central framework but not labour. The SNA guidance document covers measurement related to Labour, Human Capital and Education. It recommends producing labour accounts that focus on four quadrants of jobs, people, volumes and payments, as well as recommendations on measuring education and human capital. Some suggestions are relatively easily incorporated in national accounts. Others require further development of concepts and data. Our research goes beyond the labour accounts to understand aspects of the operation of labour markets that are not feasible to include directly in National and Satellite Accounts but should inform future revisions. These include understanding labour market transitions, the demand and supply of skills, employer concentration in labour markets and the quality of work.
Our research will benefit not just ONS but a range of government agencies, including the DfE, DLUHC, BEIS, Cabinet Office and the Government Equalities Office. It will also inform several of the Government’s latest priority areas, ranging from the levelling-up agenda to supporting workers and promoting fairness and inclusion in the labour market.