The number of people who are economically inactive due to long term sickness in the UK has more than doubled in the past year and is now 25 times higher than before the pandemic.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the number of people who were economically inactive due to being long term sick reached 407,339 in January 2023.
This was up 16% or almost 55,000 on the previous month when 352,426 were economically inactive for this reason, more than double the figure of a year earlier (202,898).
And is reached 25 times that of the pre-pandemic January 2020 figure of just 15,112.
Long term sickness is far outstripping other reasons for being economically inactive and has been the top reason for being economically inactive since September 2021, taking the top spot from students. (See graph below)
The number of people who were economically inactive due to being a student fell to 60,246 in January 2023 from 143,337 in the previous month, while the number of people who were economically inactive due looking after their family or home rose marginally to 141,770 from 137,543 over the same period.
Figures from the ONS released earlier this month up to September 2022 showed mental health and musculoskeletal conditions were the leading contributors to the startling increase.
