Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) finds that the number of professionals leaving the workforce due to long-term illness and mental health issues is growing.
Since 2019, those who cited these factors as the reason for leaving their jobs grew by around 25% — and it’s expected to stay at worrying levels as a recession approaches. The analysis showed that 28% of workers said long-term illness was keeping them from participating in the workforce between June and August of 2022.
“More understanding is needed about the impacts of National Health Service (NHS) waiting times, long COVID, and the ageing workforce,” the ONS report stated.
The findings are causing the Bank of England to grow concerned as inflation continues to have a chokehold on the country and employees participate in the Great Resignation.
As a result of the exodus and political whiplash, Britain’s attempt to rebound has fallen short. The data also indicates it will be one of the only major developed countries to see its employment remain below pre-pandemic levels at the beginning of 2023.
“We have record low unemployment, yet hours worked are still below the levels of February 2020,” said Neil Carberry, CEO of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. “That makes economic inactivity a huge challenge to our future ability to deliver growth and prosperity.”
