Ill-health has increasingly become the main reason for economic activity
150,000 people aged 50 to 69 years old were economically inactive for health reasons in late 2022.
Other data indicates a further 500,000 people aged 16 to 49 years old who are inactive because of ill-health.
If such people or their carers can be helped through a programme of preventive care support to manage long-term conditions more successfully, a proportion will be enabled to return to work.
Source: The Health Foundation analysis of the Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics, 2022