If there’s one organization you would expect to have a handle on hiring, it’s the body in charge of compiling labor market data for the whole of the U.K.
However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is facing an exodus of workers just as it attempts to overhaul its statistical operations. And the old controversy of remote and hybrid work is once again not far away.
What happened?
Some 958 employees have departed the ONS in the last year, according to data obtained from a Freedom of Information request by the Financial Times, representing around 20% of the workforce.
That figure was a stark rise from pre-COVID levels from 2018-19, when 694 people exited the company.
At the same time, the stats body, which produces key economic growth and labor market figures, has watched recruitment levels halve in the last five years.
The ONS’s chief economist, Grant Fitzner, blamed the exodus on a hot labor market with high demand for skills and a natural swelling of departures after more people stayed in their roles during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Budgeting challenges linked to inflation and wage pressures had affected the recruitment side of operations, Fitzner added.
“We have to prioritize and at times that does require some difficult choices, but I don’t think that’s any more true at the ONS than it is elsewhere in government,” Fitzner told the FT.
“One of the consequences of the budget challenges we faced last year is the headcount did come down.”
Remote work battle
Not long ago, the ONS announced its plans to bring statisticians back into the office on a hybrid basis, joining a long and growing list of companies reigning in COVID-era flexibility.
However, in an unusual twist, the stats body faced stiff opposition, resulting in industrial action from around 1,000 staffers.
In April, employees voted to strike if they were forced to comply with an order to spend two days a week in the office.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, the group representing ONS workers, later told the ONS its 1,000 members would refuse to comply with an order to be physically present 40% of their time.
It’s unclear how much this dispute has affected wider hiring.
According to data from the FT, the disparity between departures and new hires has been particularly stark in the last few months as threats of industrial action spiked. The number of people joining the ONS in the first quarter of the year was down more than 60% from the same period in 2023.
The bigger challenge
An exodus of staffers, whether they’re in the office or not, couldn’t have come at a worse time for the ONS.
The stats body is attempting to overhaul its crucial labor force survey (LFS) after discovering its old method was causing inaccuracies in its unemployment measure.
The overhaul was partly due to Gen Z and millennials becoming increasingly difficult to reach over the phone, skewing the ONS’s labor force figures.
Policymakers use ONS stats to make major decisions, including the Bank of England’s interest rate calls.
The ONS thinks it may have a solution to getting through to younger surveyees. The body has increased the use of cash incentives to get Gen Z and millennials talking, while increasing the frequency with which they reach out to them.
Earlier this year, the ONS said publication of its new, improved LFS had been delayed until September.
