The number of workers who are out of work due to long-term illness has risen to a new record of over 2.8 million.
Since the Covid pandemic began, economic inactivity (when an individual is not working and not seeking a job) has steadily increased, driven up by the prevalence of long-term illnesses.
Before the pandemic, 2.1 million people had been classified as economically inactive due to long-term illness. According to the Office for National Statistics, this means there was an increase of 700,000 in the last three years.
Analysts from HSBC stated: “The last period saw another rise in long term sickness. This means that the number of people aged 16-64 who are inactive due to this reason has now increased by 36 per cent since 2019.
The inflationary pressures have been intensified by a sharp increase in the number people who are leaving the workforce. Economists say that the decline in available workers is partly responsible for inflation.
ONS said the unemployment rate was up to 4.2% from 3.9% and the number of workers in the workforce had fallen by 141,000. The number of vacancies fell for the 21st consecutive month, indicating that the labour market was under pressure due to high interest rates and slow growth.
Charlie McCurdy is an economist with the Resolution Foundation think tank. He said that Britain’s recovery from the pandemic has slipped further off track, as falling employment added to the long-term increase in economic inactivity. Falling employment and rising redundancies are indicators of stagnation in the economy. Meanwhile, long-term sickness and increasing inactivity are indications of wider health issues.
“Tackling the rising inactivity and its impact on public finances, benefits and the health of people is one of the most important economic challenges that this government faces.
Experts say that the swelling NHS waiting list has resulted in many people not getting routine treatment they need to stay in their jobs and have been forced out of the labour market. The rising number of mental illnesses, particularly amongst young people, as well as tighter rules regarding access to basic benefits have also been cited by experts as reasons for workers leaving the workforce. Analysts and economists are yet to reach a consensus about what is driving the increase in inactivity.
According to the Statistics Office, Britain’s total number of economically unactive people in working age reached 9.4 million during the three-month period ending in February. This is the highest level since 2012, when Britain still struggled to recover from the global economic crisis and credit crunch. The rate of inactivity in Britain has risen to 37.4% when measuring each age group. This is the highest level since September 1998.
Mel Stride, secretary for work and pensions, stated: “Since the pandemic, we’ve seen a rise in long-term sickness-related inactivity. We introduced our £2.5 billion Back-to-Work Plan to transform lives, and grow the economy.
Our welfare reforms will reduce the number of people who are eligible for the highest level of incapacity benefit by more than 370,000. The huge increase in the national minimum wages this month has benefited millions of people. Work, and not welfare, is the best way to ensure financial security for British families.