Economic inactivity due to ill health soars

Official statistics show that economic inactivity due to long-term sickness has soared since the pandemic. Government estimates suggest that 2.8m people are currently off work ill. This is up by around 700,000 since before the Covid-19 outbreak. Office for National Statistics figures show that total economic inactivity in Britain now exceeds 9.5m, having been at around 8.4m before the pandemic. Nearly 30% of the total is attributed to long-term sickness, up from 25% before the coronavirus crisis. Of those economically inactive due to long-term illness, the most common primary or secondary cause is depression, bad nerves or anxiety. Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Mental health problems are driving much of the recent rise in inactivity and are concentrated among young people, who are now just as likely to be out of work due to long-term sickness as people in their 40s.”