A long-term illness leaves 1.6 million UK adults over the age of 50 unable to work | UK unemployment and employment statistics

[ad_1]

More than 1.6 million adults aged 50 or over are unable to work due to long-term illness amid swelling NHS waiting lists and mass exodus from the British workforce since the pandemic, according to the most detailed analysis yet of official data for this age group.

The number increased by 20%, or 270,000 in three years, according to an analysis of Office for National Statistics figures by Rest Less, a digital community and advocate for over-50s.

“Not only is this a national health problem with thousands of people suffering in silence, it’s increasingly an economic issue also – not least because many of these people would like to work in some capacity, if the right opportunities are open to them,” Stewart said. Lewis, CEO of Rest Less.

The data compared the causes of economic inactivity by age group in July-September 2019 and July-September 2022. It showed that of the 2.8 million people unemployed due to long-term illness, nearly 60% were over 50 years old. Almost 40% of economically inactive people between the ages of 50 and 64 were unemployed due to long-term illness.

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, promised a “fundamental program of reforms” to get millions of people back to work in a keynote address last week. He said motivation would be the key to fixing the UK’s “productivity conundrum”.

The rise in long-term ill health has significantly reduced the size of the potential workforce in the UK across all ages since the pandemic. But it’s an especially big driver of the decline in available workers in their 50s and 60s, as the number of people ages 50 to 64 who are economically inactive — neither working nor looking for work — has increased by 375,000 since Covid hit.

In all, 27.6% of this age group are now inactive; An increase of 2.4 percentage points from before the pandemic. This is much more than the 1.5 percentage point increase in the working-age population as a whole.

Since the pandemic, the NHS has struggled to keep up with demand, and waiting lists for routine operations have soared, reaching a record 7.2 million people in October in England. Those who need a total hip and knee replacement need to wait up to two years for treatment.

“The Aging is Better Centre,” said Kim Chaplan, specialist consultant for the charity’s work. “These new statistics show that long-term illness is part of the challenge that the government needs to find solutions.”

“Out of the thousands that have been brought to light, many are currently stuck in or out of an employment support system that is not working for them,” she added.

Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, for free every morning of the week

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertisements, and content funded by third parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

John, 64, was forced to retire last year due to severe arthritis in his hands. Unable to afford not to work, he went to Citizens Advice for guidance. He ended up volunteering for it, and is now being trained as a debt counselor.

“CAB recognized my physical disabilities to all that I had to offer them,” he said. “It didn’t take much to transform me from a burden into someone who can continue to contribute to society, but I know I’m very lucky: Other employers haven’t had this attitude.”

The Small Business Alliance revealed research that showed that finding employees with the right skills was a major impediment to the growth of one in three small businesses. “You cannot address this skills crisis without bringing older and disabled people into work,” said David Hill, a spokesman for the FSB. “It would help small businesses that desperately need employees, those entering or returning to the workforce, and the economy in general.”

Bea Boileau, a research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the findings are troubling. “This rise in long-term illness for people who are economically inactive is deeply concerning,” she said. “It adds to the growing evidence that the UK’s health is worsening.”

[ad_2]