Regional country of birth and nationality datasets temporarily withdrawn

The following APS regional data sets have been temporarily withdrawn:

• annual population survey - regional - country of birth
• annual population survey - regional - nationality

Background

As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS) had to change the way it contacted people for initial interviews, from face-to-face interviewing to telephone-based. This change in method of initial contact has had an impact on the non-response bias of the survey, and consequently the survey estimates.

One area that appears to have been particularly affected was the likelihood of people from different nationalities and countries of birth to respond to the survey. To address this we introduced an additional calibration control for the weighting of the surveys making use of Real Time Information (RTI) employee data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

This new calibration only controls for estimates of UK born, EU born and non-EU born subpopulations. It does not seek to address the differential response from individual countries within those broad groups.

As a consequence, any breakdown below this level will temporarily be withdrawn from the public domain due to concerns surrounding the accuracy of the individual country estimates. This includes the temporary withdrawal of the Annual Population Survey regional country of birth and nationality datasets.

More information on the current weighting methodology and the use of use of RTI data can be found in an article on Labour Force Survey weighting methodology on the ONS website.