The number of people neither working nor seeking work has risen to almost nine million - figures analysed by Sky News show that this is being driven by long-term sickness and, in particular, mental health conditions.
The figures also suggest that employers could better support the workers they do have. The number of employed people with long-term mental health conditions jumped by 816,400 over the same period.A recent report by the professional services firm Deloitte found that the annual costs to UK employers of poor mental health have increased by 25% since the start of the pandemic. This can be measured in levels of absenteeism, productivity and turnover.
"When we look over the last couple of decades, there's been a really big uptick in on disability benefits. That's been almost entirely driven by mental health conditions. So we're looking at something on the order of about a million people now claiming disability benefits for mental health. That makes up almost half of everyone who gets disability benefits. If we look back to the early 2000s, it was only about a quarter or so.
A mental health epidemic is driving an increase in economic inactivity among the long-term sick. These people are not looking for work so they do not show up in the unemployment figures but the longer they remain out of work, the harder it will be for them to return.
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