Skip to main content Help with accessibility

Recent ONS information and insight

15 December 2020

Content produced by the Office for National Statistics in last few days

  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) roundup: 15th December 2020
    • The latest headline labour market statistics, which pointed to rising unemployment (4.9% in the three months to October)
    • In the same period, redundancies reached a record high of 370,000; an increase of a record 217,000 on the quarter, although the number of redundancies fell slightly in October.
    • Since February 2020, the number of payroll employees has fallen by 819,000, although the larger falls were seen at the start of the pandemic.
    • According to the latest deaths registrations in England and Wales, there were 2,835 deaths involving COVID-19 in the week ending 4 December 2020; a decrease of 205 deaths compared with the previous week (the first decline since the week ending 4 September).
    • In total, there were 12,303 deaths across England and Wales in the week ending 4 December 2020, of which 23.0% involved COVID-19.
    • Six out of nine English regions saw a fall in COVID-19 deaths compared with the previous week; the exceptions being London, the West Midlands and the East of England.
  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) roundup: 14th December 2020
    • The latest analysis of the characteristics of people testing positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) in England showed that people from other ethnic backgrounds are more likely to test positive than people of White ethnicity in the majority of regions in England.
    • In April 2020, workers from Other White ethnic groups were more likely than White British or Indian ethnicities to say they had had a loss of take-home pay compared with 2019.
    • Mental health scores had deteriorated for almost all ethnic groups in the UK in April 2020 compared with 2019.
    • Over a third of those from the Indian (36%) and the Black African, Black Caribbean or Black British (35%) ethnic groups reported increased or persistent loss of sleep over worry, compared with 23% of White British respondents and 18% of those in the Other White ethnic groups.

  • Coronavirus (COVID-19) roundup: 11th December 2020
    • The latest results from the COVID-19 infection survey (29 November to 5 December) show mixed trends across the UK; rates were decreasing in England and Northern Ireland, level in Scotland and rising in Wales.
    • At a regional level in England, the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 has increased in London, contrasting with the trend in most other English regions.
    • In the week ending 6 December 2020, the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospital in England decreased, but at a slower rate than in previous weeks.
    • The latest results from our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN) show people generally becoming more optimistic about life returning to normal, with around 3 in 10 adults feeling that life will be normal in six months or less (2 to 6 December)
    • OPN research highlights that 19% of adults experienced some form of depression in November, indicated by moderate to severe depressive symptoms, while 17% of adults experienced some form of anxiety