[UK] Boris Johnson repeats false jobs claim in parliament after admitting it was untrue

The UK Prime Minister has once again wrongly stated that there were 'more people in work than there were before the pandemic', despite admitting last month it was untrue, Mirror reports.

Boris Johnson today made a claim to Parliament that he already admitted was untrue weeks ago, and reportedly promised not to use again.

On April 20, Mr Johnson told the Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) session in the Commons that there were “more people in work than there were before the pandemic”.

However, he accepted a correction about that very figure from the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) less than a month ago.

The Prime Minister has denied deliberately misleading Parliament, insisting he reflected the facts as he knew them at the time.

While the number of people on payrolls is reportedly up since pre-pandemic figures, the number of people in jobs overall was still down by 580,000 compared to December 2019-February 2020, previous figures suggested.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that while UK employment was 75.5 per cent in April 2022 (the latest figure) that was still 1.1 points lower than pre-COVID.

The difference between payroll and employment occurs because payroll statistics do not capture the self-employed.

Sir David Norgrove - the UKSA chair - previously told the PM “it is wrong to claim that there are now more people in work than before the pandemic began” yet he continued to use the figure.

On March 30, Boris Johnson accepted he was talking about people on payrolls.

Asked by the Commons Liaison Committee if he accepted the UKSA's correction he said, “Yes I do.

“And that’s why I took particular care today, mindful as I am of Sir David’s chastisement on all occasions, I stressed it was payroll employment I was talking about.

“There were 400,000 more, there are now 600,000 more people on the payroll than they were before the pandemic began.

“That is not half bad when you consider what we were predicting - everybody was talking about 12 per cent unemployment, I seem to recall.”

But yesterday Mr Johnson returned to talking about “people in work” without mentioning the word “payroll”.

He told PMQs, “We’re going to get on with delivering for the British people, making sure we power out of the problems Covid has left us.

“More people in work than there were before the pandemic, fixing our energy problems, and leading the world in standing up to the aggression of Vladimir Putin.”

The Prime Minister's spokesman declined to comment on the PM using an incorrect claim again, saying he would need to check the details.

In March Mr Johnson said, “My overall picture I think is right - that the employment record of the government has been absolutely outstanding.”

When told he had given the wrong figure nine times he said, “I think I took steps to correct the record earlier”.

It was not immediately apparent where the PM has done this. He did not correct the record formally in Parliament.

The Prime Minister added, “I certainly have been very punctilious to talk about payroll employment.”

Source: Mirror

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

The UK Prime Minister has once again wrongly stated that there were 'more people in work than there were before the pandemic', despite admitting last month it was untrue, Mirror reports.

Boris Johnson today made a claim to Parliament that he already admitted was untrue weeks ago, and reportedly promised not to use again.

On April 20, Mr Johnson told the Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) session in the Commons that there were “more people in work than there were before the pandemic”.

However, he accepted a correction about that very figure from the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) less than a month ago.

The Prime Minister has denied deliberately misleading Parliament, insisting he reflected the facts as he knew them at the time.

While the number of people on payrolls is reportedly up since pre-pandemic figures, the number of people in jobs overall was still down by 580,000 compared to December 2019-February 2020, previous figures suggested.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that while UK employment was 75.5 per cent in April 2022 (the latest figure) that was still 1.1 points lower than pre-COVID.

The difference between payroll and employment occurs because payroll statistics do not capture the self-employed.

Sir David Norgrove - the UKSA chair - previously told the PM “it is wrong to claim that there are now more people in work than before the pandemic began” yet he continued to use the figure.

On March 30, Boris Johnson accepted he was talking about people on payrolls.

Asked by the Commons Liaison Committee if he accepted the UKSA's correction he said, “Yes I do.

“And that’s why I took particular care today, mindful as I am of Sir David’s chastisement on all occasions, I stressed it was payroll employment I was talking about.

“There were 400,000 more, there are now 600,000 more people on the payroll than they were before the pandemic began.

“That is not half bad when you consider what we were predicting - everybody was talking about 12 per cent unemployment, I seem to recall.”

But yesterday Mr Johnson returned to talking about “people in work” without mentioning the word “payroll”.

He told PMQs, “We’re going to get on with delivering for the British people, making sure we power out of the problems Covid has left us.

“More people in work than there were before the pandemic, fixing our energy problems, and leading the world in standing up to the aggression of Vladimir Putin.”

The Prime Minister's spokesman declined to comment on the PM using an incorrect claim again, saying he would need to check the details.

In March Mr Johnson said, “My overall picture I think is right - that the employment record of the government has been absolutely outstanding.”

When told he had given the wrong figure nine times he said, “I think I took steps to correct the record earlier”.

It was not immediately apparent where the PM has done this. He did not correct the record formally in Parliament.

The Prime Minister added, “I certainly have been very punctilious to talk about payroll employment.”

Source: Mirror

(Links and quotes via original reporting)