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Revisions and restatements

Statistical revisions explained

Last checked 6 November 2026 · 5 sources

Short answer

Official statistics are revised when better source data, new methods or benchmarks arrive after the first release. The UK Office for National Statistics says revisions improve quality and are not published to correct a mistake 1. Errors follow a separate correction process 1. In the United States, the Bureau of Economic Analysis releases advance, second and third GDP estimates, then annual updates and benchmark updates 2. The Bureau of Labor Statistics benchmarks its payroll survey each year to unemployment insurance records 3.
Revision
A change to published figures to add better data or methods, not to fix a mistake, in ONS terms 1
Correction of error
An amendment after a mistake is found, shown in a banner titled Correction on ONS releases 1
US GDP vintages
Advance, second and third estimates, then annual updates and benchmark updates 2
Average US GDP revision, advance to latest
1.3 percentage points without regard to sign, 1999 to 2025 2
US payroll benchmark, March 2025
Minus 898,000 jobs, or minus 0.6 percent, seasonally adjusted 3
EU benchmark revisions
Every five years for national accounts, treated as major revisions by Eurostat 4

Revision or correction

Agencies separate two kinds of change. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) defines a revision as an update to published material to add improved methods, new data sources or statistics that were not available at first publication 1. Its policy states that revisions are not published to correct a mistake 1.

A correction of error is different. ONS uses it when a mistake is found, such as a wrong calculation, a wrong method or an undetected error in input data 1. ONS says minor errors may be left uncorrected when the time elapsed, the resources needed or the public interest weigh against a fix 1.

Eurostat uses three groups. Routine revisions come from regular production, major revisions follow changes such as new base years or classifications, and unscheduled revisions usually follow the discovery of errors 4.

Why figures change after release

ONS lists the main causes of revisions 1.

  • Projections are replaced with actual data, or short-term estimates are benchmarked to higher-quality sources 1.
  • Methods, systems, concepts, definitions or classifications change 1.
  • An index is rebased to new weights or a new reference period 1.
  • Separately, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says seasonal re-analysis can revise the whole seasonally adjusted series 5.

The US GDP revision cycle

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) publishes an advance estimate near the end of the first month after a quarter ends. It rests on source data that are incomplete or still being revised by the agencies that supply them 2. Second and third estimates follow near the end of the second and third months, using more complete data 2.

Annual updates cover at least the five most recent calendar years. Benchmark updates come about every five years and bring in major periodic source data and changes in concepts and methods 2.

Vintages comparedAverage revisionAverage absolute revision
Advance to second0.1 points 20.5 points 2
Advance to third0.1 points 20.6 points 2
Second to third0.0 points 20.3 points 2
Advance to latest0.2 points 21.3 points 2

Benchmarks in labour and national accounts data

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) aligns its Current Employment Statistics survey each year with employment counts drawn mainly from unemployment insurance tax records 3. The reference month is March 3. For March 2025 the seasonally adjusted total nonfarm level was revised by minus 898,000, or minus 0.6 percent 3. BLS says the annual benchmark revision averaged 0.2 percent in absolute terms over the prior 10 years 3.

In Australia, annual benchmark results first appear in the September quarter national accounts release 5. The ABS says September quarter releases normally allow up to sixteen quarters of revision 5. In the EU, national accounts benchmark revisions take place every five years and are planned well in advance 4.

How agencies announce revisions

ONS usually reports revisions in the next release of the data, with a notice in the latest release 1. Eurostat places revision details in dataset metadata under the headings Data revision policy and Data revision practice 4. The ABS publishes eight quarters of revisions in its national income, expenditure and product tables 5.

Common questions

Does a revised figure mean the first one was wrong?

Not in the agencies' own terms. The ABS says revisions should not be seen as synonymous with error 5. ONS treats revisions and corrections of errors as separate processes 1.

How much does US GDP growth change between estimates?

BEA reports an average absolute revision of 1.3 percentage points from the advance to the latest estimate of quarterly real GDP growth, for 1999 to 2025 2. The direction of change matched 97 percent of the time 2.

Why did US payroll jobs get revised down for March 2025?

The annual benchmark replaced survey-based levels with counts drawn mainly from unemployment insurance records. The result was a seasonally adjusted revision of minus 898,000 3.

Where does Eurostat explain a dataset's revisions?

In the metadata attached to each dataset, under Data revision policy and Data revision practice 4.

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Sources

  1. Office for National Statistics: The Office for National Statistics' Revisions Policy and Correction of Errors Policy (9 August 2024)
  2. Bureau of Economic Analysis: Comparisons of Revisions to Real GDP (October 2026)
  3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: CES National Benchmark Article (11 February 2026)
  4. Eurostat: Data revision policy
  5. Australian Bureau of Statistics: Revisions, Australian System of National Accounts Concepts, Sources and Methods 2020-21 (9 July 2021)

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