Well-being: Unemployed People
Cabinet Office

Rachel Reeves (Leeds West, Labour)

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2011, Official Report, columns 541-2W, on well-being, whether the National Statistician has made any estimate of the effect of changes in the unemployment rate on happiness.

Nick Hurd (Parliamentary Secretary (Civil Society), Cabinet Office; Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, Conservative)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.

Letter from Jil Matheson, dated February 2012

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2011, Official Report, columns 541-2W, on well-being, whether the National Statistician has made any estimate of the effect of changes in the unemployment rate on happiness. (93738)

I have not made any estimate of the effect of changes in the unemployment rate on happiness. However, on 1 December 2011, ONS published a research report entitled ‘Initial investigation into Subjective Well-being from the Opinions Survey’. This report includes estimates of how much subjective well-being differs for unemployed people compared with those in employment and those who are inactive.

The report provides initial experimental estimates of subjective well-being for Great Britain from the ONS Opinions Survey and is available from the following web link:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-subjective-wellbeing-in-the-uk/investigation-of-subjective-well-being-data-from-the-ons-opinions-survey/initial-investigation-into-subjective-well-being-from-the-opinions-survey.html