Office for National statistics owns up to errors
In a worrying about turn for the UK economy it has been revealed that the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has significantly overstated the volume of retail sales since August 2007. The ONS has admitted that the figures in question were overstated by 56%, showing a 3.6% rise in sales volumes while the correct figure was actually only 2.3%. Quite how this has happened remains to be seen but it has caused significant issues with economists and analysts throughout the UK.
It is difficult to overstate how important these figures are and how important the ONS is to the economist of the UK. These vital figures, which often move stock markets, are the foundations of the economic indicators available in the UK. If analysts and economists are unable to believe or trust the figures released by the ONS, where do they go from here?
Interestingly, since the figures began to go slightly astray some of the UK's leading retailers had expressed their concerns that reality was not reflected in the figures being released. As a consequence, many of these retailers in question were publicly humiliated by the ONS which has stood by its figures until today.
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