Statistics
China is set to deliver another lacklustre economic report card
The numbers to be released on Monday are expected to show retail sales rising 2.9% in November from a year earlier, matching the weakest gain since August 2024
Seen and supported: Why data is indispensable for the platform economy
Strong national data and international collaboration could turn this critical workforce from invisible to included
The folly of data mining
The problem we face today is not data scarcity but surfeit – and big data sets can easily be mined and tortured to identify patterns that are utterly useless
The jobs numbers went down, but trust in them shouldn’t
When government agencies revise their data, as the US’ Bureau of Labor Statistics did last month, it usually means they have more reliable information
Relative measures can be absolutely wrong
Comparing one data point with another can be misleading, nonsensical or even dangerous
Singapore’s statistical standard adds job codes for roles in tech, green economy
SINGAPORE has created new occupational codes for jobs in infocomm technology and the green economy in its national statistical standard, as the country has made strides in these areas and related jobs...
UK regulator raises concerns about labour data quality
Britain’s statistics regulator raised concerns on Tuesday (Nov 14) about the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) approach to calculating unemployment and other key labour market data, following a bi...
The danger of building strong narratives on weak data
Hazy statistics have painted too gloomy a picture of Britain, but similar issues affect many countries
People are numb to big numbers
Millions, billions, trillions – the human brain isn’t wired to comprehend information on a large scale
Regulation, productivity and the meaning of life
Safety and environmental rules may reduce GDP; but maybe that’s OK
