Inside Business

Most people pay little attention to economics statistics, but they remember the bad ones

A report has found the public struggles with economic data and that creates a problem for the government, writes James Moore 

Thursday 26 November 2020 19:40 GMT
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<p>The chancellor is facing an economic crisis on the back of Brexit and the pandemic</p>

The chancellor is facing an economic crisis on the back of Brexit and the pandemic

That the British public doesn’t really trust economic stats and people often get frustrated by them might be a statement of the bleedin’ obvious but the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCE) has, I think, nonetheless done us a service by turning the spotlight on the issue.

Economics is currently a very big deal and it is going to remain so. As the chancellor stated during his latest mini-budget, the Covid crisis has morphed into an economic crisis and we’re only at the beginning of it. Those of us involved in communicating the issue need to raise our game.

What the chancellor did not say was that Brexit will inevitably contribute to it by making it worse, especially if, as is looking increasingly likely again, Boris Johnson lands a no deal on the nation’s head.

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