The number of people economically inactive due to long-term sickness has dropped slightly but remains stubbornly high at 2.81 million people.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) covering the latest quarter (August to October 2025) show that while this figure represents a reduction of 11,825 (down just 0.4%) since the previous quarter’s total of 2.82 million, it is still an increase of 15,413 on the same period last year (2.80 million).
Most notably it remained almost three quarters of a million (721,608) higher than the same period in 2019 (2.09 million) – before the pandemic.
Keep Britain Working Review
The release of the findings follows on from publication of Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review last month, which concluded that eventually incentives such as tax relief for employer health benefits will be critical to encourage take-up of changes recommended.
The review outlined several potential incentive areas for employers focusing on two broad categories – financial incentives ranging from procurement through to tax benefits, and risk reduction incentives addressing the fear of disputes and litigation.
As part of the first stage, the government partnered with 60 employers including insurers and providers to start tackling labour inactivity.
Stagnation rather than meaningful progress
Brett Hill, head of health and protection at Broadstone, (pictured) said: “Economic inactivity due to long-term sickness remains entrenched at historically high levels and is above where it stood a year ago, signalling that poor health looks set to continue holding the handbrake on the UK’s economic growth heading into 2026
“While there was a marginal quarter-on-quarter dip, this is best described as stagnation at the top rather than meaningful progress.
“Against the backdrop of political deadlock over welfare reforms and renewed NHS strike action, it represents another setback for the government’s growth ambitions, threatening to stall hard-won gains on waiting lists and intensify pressure on already overstretched services over the critical winter months.“
