Record number of people leave their jobs due to long-term illness
The number of people leaving the UK labour market because of long-term illness has now risen to its highest level since the 1990s, according to a report, bbc.com reports.
The number of adults becoming economically inactive due to ill health has risen from 2.1 million in July 2019 to 2.8 million by October 2023, the highest ever, according to the Resolution Foundation. The longest period of increase in inactivity due to ill health was between 1994 and 1998, lasting 55 months.
The data showed that the number of people lost from work due to long-term illness was high in both the younger and older age groups. \"Younger and older people together account for nine-tenths of the increase in overall economic inactivity, which can have a serious impact on both individual living standards and career paths,\" said Louise Murphy, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation.
The foundation said the rise in the number of people with long-term sickness has left the UK as the only G7 economy not to have returned to pre-epidemic employment levels. It added, however, that inactivity figures have fallen slightly to 2.7 million in December 2023. He said that the upward trend in long-term morbidity actually started before the pandemic in the summer of 2019 and has been going on for 54 months.
Data from the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) shows that more people are claiming disability benefits. It says the number of people with health problems increased by 68 percent from 2020 to 2024, and by 138 percent in the 16-17 age group.
The foundation examined DWP data on health conditions recorded in work capability assessments and highlighted that many benefit claimants cited mental health and musculoskeletal problems, with 69% registering for mental disorders and 48% for connective tissue or musculoskeletal pain.
A DWP spokesman said:´"Our plan for the economy is working. Inflation is down to 3.4%, employment is growing, the number of people in work is at a record high and the number of inactive people is falling. Since 2010 we have reduced the number of workless households by one million. Our £2.5 billion Back to Work plan is helping to break down barriers to work for more than a million people, and our recent fiscal measures are estimated to add a further 300,000 workers to the labour force,\" he added.hrportal.hu/hr/where-are-there-are-households-in-the-hungarian-allaspia-market-where-are-they-latja-az-allamtitkar-20240302.html\" target="_blank\">estimatesthe potential labour reserve in our country.)
To tackle long-term economic inactivity, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said in November that reforms including tougher work capability tests and job-search support would put 200,000 more people into work. Under these plans, the government also wants to scrap the controversial work capability test.
"We will reform the work capability assessment system to reflect the greater flexibility and the ability to work from home that has spread since the pandemic,
" Mr Hunt said in November. \"And we will spend £1.3 billion over the next five years to help nearly 700,000 people with health problems find work.\"photo: freepik