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From annual to monthly workforce estimates: an important step forward for adult social care workforce data

Will Fenton, Programme Head – Analytics, ´óÏó´«Ã½ discusses our ‘Filled posts in the adult social care workforce in England: official monthly workforce statistic’, and what it means for the sector.

At ´óÏó´«Ã½, we’ve reached a milestone in our data and analytics journey that I’m delighted to share: the publication of our first official statistic using Adult Social Care Workforce Data Set (ASC-WDS) independent sector data. The monthly release, "Filled posts in the adult social care workforce in England", marks an important step forward in how we report on workforce trends.

That might sound technical, but the change is simple and important: we can now provide a much more regular view of how the adult social care workforce is growing and changing. With the publication now being an official statistic, it also allows the information to be used more widely for official government purposes.

Previously, estimates of the size of the adult social care workforce were produced once a year and published a few months after the period they related to. Those statistics were, and still are, valuable. But in a sector that changes quickly, there has always been a clear need for more timely information.

We now produce an official statistic that estimates the number of filled posts in the CQC-regulated independent sector every month. These figures are published on the 15th of each month, giving policymakers, employers and others across the sector a more current view of workforce trends in England.

Getting to this point has taken a lot of work behind the scenes. We’ve changed the way we produce workforce statistics in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, introduced new data engineering capability, automated key parts of the process, and moved more of our processing into the cloud. In practice, that means we can publish estimates more regularly and much closer to the period they refer to.

For me, the most exciting part is that these are not just faster estimates, but better ones. By using the full history of data collected through ASC-WDS, rather than treating each year in isolation, we can produce higher-quality workforce estimates. The extra processing power also gives us more scope to test and refine our models, improving accuracy and allowing us to show trends in greater detail.

Publishing monthly filled posts estimates is an important achievement, but it is also only the starting point. We are already looking at how this methodology can be extended into other areas of workforce analysis. Recruitment and retention statistics are the immediate focus, because better and more timely insight in these areas can help decision makers understand workforce supply and demand more clearly.

For me, this shows why modernising the way we work with data matters. Better workforce statistics are not an end in themselves; they help decision-makers understand what is happening across the sector and make better-informed choices. Ultimately, the goal is to support a stronger adult social care workforce and improve the experience of people who draw on care and support.

View the latest filled posts data.

Learn more about ASC-WDS and sign-up.

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