Chaos in employment statistics: What's going on with the Labour Force Survey?
ParticipantsDr Hannah Randolph - Fellow at the Fraser of Allander InstituteAllison Catalano - Fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute and the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU)Time stamps(00:06) Introduction(01:20) What is the LFS and what are the issues it's been having? (6:57) Alternative data sources for understanding the labour market(18:23) Misunderstandings around what's happened in the post-pandemic labour market(19:39) ONS changes to improve the quality of the LFS(23:40) How poor employment statistics may impact local decision-making(27:49) Information about FAI 50th anniversary conference
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29:19
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29:19
GERS-onomics: reflections on the latest figures
(00:29) What is GERS and why is it important?(10:19) What do the latest figures tell us and what factors are driving changes?(14:23) What were our thoughts on the Scottish Government response?(25:51) How likely is GERS to feature in the upcoming general election?
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33:05
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33:05
Innovation in Scotland - Opportunities and Challenges
04:27 - What does the UK innovation survey say about innovation in Scotland?07:10 - Is there really a decline in innovation across Scotland? 12:00 - Is business investment in Scotland really less than rest of UK?15:44 - Product innovation versus process innovation21:00 - How do skills shortages affect innovation?24: 00 - How does company size affect innovation?27:04 - How can businesses collaborate with universities to address skills development?29:00 - Where is the policy environment in Scotland when it comes to innovation?
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36:16
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36:16
A Tentative Recovery for Scottish Business Sentiment?
(00:38) What is the Scottish Business Monitor?(02:44) What business types are represented and what is the sample size?(04:28) Has poor business sentiment from Q1 2025 recovered in Q2?(06:50) What changes have we seen based on the changes to employer national insurance contributions?(08:37) What does business sentiment look like for 2026?(11:26) What factors are contributing to current business sentiment?
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14:46
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14:46
Gridlock Glasgow: Exploring Congestion Charging
Timestamps(00:23) What is congestion charging?(02:59) Exemptions(04:49) Similarities with LEZs(07:10) Timing of charges(10:26) Use of discounts & revenue(14:54) Clyde Tunnel Toll(16:26) Edinburgh’s failed proposal(20:13) Other UK charges(21:43) Effectiveness of congestion charges(23:37) Glasgow’s public transport system(25:57) Public attitudes