The number of people not working due to long-term sickness and disability increased by more than 10 times than would have been expected under normal conditions over the last three years with mental health and musculoskeletal conditions leading contributors, according to official data.
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that from 2019 to 2022 economic inactivity because of long-term sickness or disability increased by 462,000 people, significantly up on the 41,000 increase that might normally be expected due to the changing age-composition of the population. (See graph below)
As an example, the ONS noted there had been considerably larger increases in economic inactivity for people aged 45 to 59 years than it would have expected from population changes alone.
There was an increase in economic inactivity across this age range of around 200,000 people, compared with an expected decrease of 5,000.
This, the ONS highlighted, was mainly because of the increase in long-term sickness.
When examining the main health conditions of those reporting long-term sickness as their main reason for inactivity, the ONS noticed two key trends.
For younger workers the increase was largely caused by rising mental illness and nervous disorders.
However, for older age groups it was increase in musculoskeletal conditions such as problems connected with the back or neck and other health problems or disabilities which were driving numbers higher.
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, (pictured) warned this increase in economic inactivity coincided with a bulge in population nearing retirement age, driving concerns that the combination of an ageing workforce and a growing health crisis could see economic inactivity rates climb even higher.
“Employers need to be aware of the extent to which sickness and ill health are driving economic inactivity, accounting for over 350,000 since the start of the pandemic and a total of nearly 2.5 million,“ he said.
“Amid a fierce battle for talent, losing existing employees because of health issues is already a huge problem many employers are combatting.
“With an ageing workforce and a growing backlog in the NHS these issues are only likely to become more prevalent, with an increasing number of older workers nearing retirement who are at greater risk of the most common health problems driving people out of employment like musculoskeletal issues and, increasingly, cancer.
“It is why we are seeing a notable uptick in demand from employers for private healthcare options for their workforce, as well as expanding coverage throughout their employees.
“Proactive employee wellbeing strategies combined with expanded healthcare coverage will help avoid health issues driving even more employees out of the workforce.”