Had we switched to one of the provincial statistical offices still generating reliable figures, we fear it would have come under government pressure.

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"This has been the main statistical challenge, accurately estimating the figures for countries where no records exist, " says a FIFA spokesman.

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Throughout this year, the only statistical comfort to be drawn was from figures relating to consumer behaviour.

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Nowhere does it mention that U.S. manufacturing jobs peaked in 1979 (well before trade with China was more than a statistical rounding error in our total trade figures) and has been trending downward ever since.

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Seasonally adjusted figures are calculated to minimize the statistical impact of temporary factors, such as increased hiring during the summer tourist season in Greece, for example.

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Study leader Catherine Thomson, head of statistical information at Cancer Research UK, said the figures in particular from Liverpool and Sunderland were "alarmingly high".

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But official figures almost certainly understate consumer spending in emerging Asia, because of the poor statistical coverage of spending on services.

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