Near record 2.7 million adults too sick to work

Britain is in the midst of the longest sustained rise in sickness-related inactivity since the 1990s, according to research.

Economic inactivity because of long-term sickness has increased on an annual basis since July 2019, the longest sustained rise since 1994-1998, said the Resolution Foundation.

The think tank said its study found that a near record 2.7 million working-age adults are too sick to work, with increases concentrated among the youngest and oldest workers.

While the labour market is returning to normal in terms of pay growth, vacancies and unemployment after a “tumultuous” few years, the Covid-19 pandemic has left an “alarming” legacy of rising long-term sickness, said the report.

The number of workingage adults economically inactive due to ill health rose from 2.1 million in July 2019 to a peak of 2.8 million by October 2023, before falling slightly to 2.7 million in December 2023, the foundation reported.

The rise in long-term sickness means that the UK is the only G7 economy not to have returned to its pre-pandemic employment rate, according to the research.

The foundation said the upward trend in long-term sickness started before the pandemic and has lasted for 54 months.

Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: "Britain's labour market is finally returning to normal, but the Covid-19 pandemic has left an alarming legacy of the longest sustained rise in sickness-related inactivity since the 1990s. As a result, 2.7 million people are now too sick to work.

"Younger and older people account for nine-tenths of the rise in overall economic inactivity, which could have serious effects on individuals' living standards and career paths."