UK jobs market is cooling despite record pay growth
GuardianAug 02, 2023
Report: UK Faces Sickness-Related Employment Crisis
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The Facts
According to an analysis by the Resolution Foundation, a British think tank, the UK is in the middle of the longest sustained rise in the number of working-age adults who are economically inactive due to sickness.
The number of people quitting the workforce due to long-term sickness rose from 2.1M in July 2019 to 2.8M in October 2023 — the longest sustained increase in sickness-related inactivity on record.
The Spin
Right narrative
The UK should be wary about its benefits system, which encourages people not to return to work and claim health-related benefits instead. The extraordinary rise in disability benefits claims has weakened the economy, crippled the exchequer, and caused enormous strains on the NHS.
Left narrative
A benefits crackdown is unlikely to solve the UK's jobless crisis. Only improved mental health and musculoskeletal care infrastructure, shortened NHS waiting lists, and extensive budget measures to boost the labor force can help tackle the country's economic inactivity challenge.
