Numbers ‘in work’ not yet back to pre-pandemic levels

26 Nov 2021 | Full Fact's weekly news

FACT CHECK
Numbers ‘in work’ not yet back to pre-pandemic levels

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Boris Johnson claimed that there are more people in work now than there were before the pandemic began.

Number 10 told Full Fact the Prime Minister was referring to the number of UK workers on employer payrolls which was 29.3 million in October 2021. That's above the 29 million in February 2020 from before the start of the pandemic.

However, the number of workers on employer payrolls doesn’t include everyone in work. Notably it excludes the self-employed, the number of whom has fallen from 5 million just before the pandemic to 4.3 million as of the third quarter of 2021.

Other data from the Office for National Statistics, which includes all people in paid work in the UK, shows the figure is still about half a million below the level just prior to the pandemic. It has gone from about 33 million between December 2019 and February 2020 to 32.5 million in the latest figures from July to September 2021.

The proportion of working-age people in employment is also lower than it was in early 2020, falling from 76.6% to 75.4% in this period.

So although the numbers are fairly close, it is not correct to say that there are now more people in employment than there were before the pandemic began.

A closer look at the numbers

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FACT CHECK
Peston claim that immigration is top public concern based on his own findings

On ITV News, Robert Peston claimed that the “single” issue voters care about is immigration, and migrants “trying to get here is at the top of voters’ concerns”.

But this isn’t what some of the most recent polls about voter concerns report.

YouGov asked adults in Great Britain on Monday to pick up to three of the most important issues facing the country. The top three responses were health (49%), the economy (40%) and the environment (35%). Immigration and asylum were fourth with 34%. These figures are analysed to remove random fluctuations in the data. If this isn’t done immigration and asylum are even lower with 22%.

Ipsos MORI’s most recent poll found climate change was mentioned most as a concern (40%). Coronavirus and pandemic diseases came second with 27% and Brexit issues and the NHS/healthcare were joint third with 22%. Immigration and immigrants were mentioned by 11%.

It's understood Mr Peston's comment about immigration being the single issue that voters care about was based on his own findings from conversations with MPs rather than any specific data.

An ITV spokesperson told us: “After speaking to a wide range of MPs about the issues they believe to be the most important to their constituents, Robert Peston has been informed that the topic that comes up most frequently at the moment in conversation and in emails between constituents and MPs is migration and migrants."

What the public thinks...at least, according to pollsters

Last week, the Guardian, The Times, the Metro, New Scientist and Forbes claimed a study shows mask-wearing cuts the risk of Covid by 53%. This isn’t what the study says. It actually says mask-wearing is “associated with” a 53% risk reduction, but that due to the limitations of the research, “it was difficult for our review to draw a… causal conclusion”.

We published our fact check the next day, and we’re pleased that the Guardian, The Times and the Metro have updated their articles off the back of this. We’re disappointed the New Scientist and Forbes have not yet followed suit.

FACT CHECK
Dominic Raab didn’t say he watched Peppa Pig with his parents when he was young

A number of Facebook posts have shared a screenshot of a tweet claiming that the deputy prime minister Dominic Raab said he watched Peppa Pig “with his parents when he was young”, even though the children’s TV show first aired in 2004 when he would have been 30.

The tweet actually appears to be a misquote from a recent TV interview.

During an appearance on Sky News on 24 November, Mr Raab was asked about a speech the Prime Minister recently gave to the Confederation of British Industry, in which Boris Johnson spoke about Peppa Pig.

Mr Raab said: “Peppa Pig—many of your viewers will have watched it either as grandparents or parents. I watched it with my boys when they were younger, but it’s actually a huge British export.”

He also confirmed he had visited the theme park Peppa Pig World with his children when they were younger, but did not suggest at any point that he had watched the show himself when he was young.

The original tweet has since been deleted, but many screengrabs of it remain on Facebook.

Twitter porkies

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