Part 3/7:
One of the primary contributors to this decline is health-related inactivity, which currently affects nearly 2.8 million people aged 16 to 64. Since 2019, the percentage of working-age Britons inactive due to long-term illness has surged from 5% to 6.6%. A significant portion of this increase can be attributed to mental health conditions and chronic pain. Disturbingly, approximately 66% of individuals claiming health-related benefits are classified as unable to work.
Following the pandemic, 1.6 million people have begun claiming sickness benefits without any requirement to seek employment, exacerbating the issue further. The implications of this rising trend are profound, as it indicates a growing population that is unable to contribute to the economy.