The number of of people joining the ranks of economically inactive due to long-term sickness since the start of the pandemic is now nearing 500,000.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated an increase of 27,208 people on the previous month to hit 491,433 as of July 2023.
The figure has been steadily increasing since May.
At the beginning of the pandemic as of February 2020, two million people were economically inactive due to long-term sickness.
