Adults economically inactive due to ill-health rose from 2.1m in July 2019 to a peak of 2.8m in October 2023, said the Resolution Foundation.
The Foundation’s report comes after the ONS said more than a fifth of UK adults were not looking for work.
“Younger and older people together account for nine-tenths of the rise in overall economic inactivity, which could have serious effects both on individual’s living standards and career paths,” said Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Foundation.
The guy who the pump seal company replaced me with, developed cancer a few years later. He was dragging himself in to the office until within a few days of his death, because, if he didn’t, he would lose his health insurance, and his wife would be driven bankrupt by the bills.
All hail the Shiny health insurance system.
/sarcasm
Steve
Is this a surprise? Long COVID is the likely driver. Although high infection rates are long gone, those that contracted the original incarnation (“Classic COVID”) have probably been dealing with it since mid 2020. At some point, they realized they were not getting better and were having trouble doing work requiring sustained mental focus or physical exertion. If they applied for disability, it is likely some are just now getting confirmation of eligibility for disability, at which point they leave the workforce.
I have a family member who contracted classic COVID in October 2020, was out for 9 months, tried returning to work in July 2021 and realized a full workday was impossible. A claim for SSI was filed in November 2021, rejected within two months, then spent another two years being appealed before getting an approval in February 2024.
IF YOU OR A FAMILY MEMBER HAVE SEVERE LONG-HAUL COVID, ARE UNABLE TO WORK AND HAVE HAD A DISABILITY CLAIM REJECTED, DO NOT ACCEPT THAT REJECTION.
Probably 90% of claims are rejected nearly automatically. Find a lawyer specializing in disability / Social Security and have them pursue all appeals. The law limits their fees to 10% of the eventual back payments and it is likely the ONLY path to acceptance. Quite reasonable when the alternative is no job and burning through your savings when you thought you would still be able bodied and earning income.
WTH
There was something more important health wise because of Covid that happened. People could not get heart operations or cancer treatments etc during the pandemic. The hospital and medical resources were not there. Now people in many cases are worse off than if they had gotten proper treatment in a timely manner.
I do not know the proportion of the problem. The UK is worse because their medical personnel shortage is possibly the worst in the first world. So it may even extend beyond the pandemic years.