§ 17. Mr. Maurice Macmillanasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity when she will announce the conclusions of her review of the seasonal adjustment of unemployment figures.
§ Mr. HattersleyI cannot give a date. The review is not expected to be completed for some time.
§ Mr. MacmillanWill the hon. Gentleman accept that this is the third year running in which the trend of the unemployment figures shows that the seasonal adjustments are way out? Why is it taking so long to have the new figures? Will the hon. Gentleman consider publishing the alternative figures which the Department has at the same time as the existing series?
§ Mr. HattersleyI do not think that it is possible to predict the reasons which are delaying the completion of the review. I refute the allegation that there are any errors in the existing figures, not least because the alternative schemes organised by the Statistical Office and the Bank of England show very similar trends to those about which the hon. Gentleman complained. Therefore, if a statistical error exists nobody is yet sure of its nature.