The number of working-age adults who are not actively seeking employment (also referred to as “economically inactive”) due to a long-term illness has increased since 2019, rising from about 2.0 million in the spring of 2019 to about 2.5 million in the summer of 2022, according to data released by the Office of National Statistics today.
Employers will be eager to do everything in their power to stop the rising trend of people quitting their jobs due to chronic health issues, according to Broadstone.
Broadstone director David Pye says: “The sharp rise in the number of people exiting the workforce for health reasons is a major concern for businesses up and down the country. Both the pandemic and changes in migration patterns post-Brexit have contributed to labour shortages, while the trend that started in 2019 for people to leave the labour market for long-term sickness appears to be accelerating.
“While more older workers are suffering from long-term sickness than their younger colleagues, rates of inactivity are rising the fastest for people between the ages of 16 and 34 and, as ‘other health problems’ are the most frequently cited reason for long-term illness, it is unclear what is causing the deteriorating health of the UK workforce.
“In the wake of Covid, and the difficult economic conditions businesses are facing, we have seen more employers than ever explore the possibility of providing private healthcare options that may help keep their workforce healthy and productive while supporting those who are unwell back to health as quickly as possible.”