Two concerning economic and social trends in the UK emerging from the covid-19 pandemic are the fall in employment of people aged 50 and over and the increase in sickness levels in the population. The drop in employment has not been caused by rising unemployment (when people are generally searching for work), but rather by rising “economic inactivity” (when they generally are not).1 These declines have not occurred in most industrialised nations with a notable exception of the US.23 A natural conclusion might be that the two trends are related. But a closer look at the data implies that—in 2020-21 at least—these issues have been quite distinct.
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Authors
Associate Director
Jonathan is an Associate Director and Head of Retirement, Savings and Ageing sector, focusing on pensions, savings and later-life economic activity.
Comment details
- DOI
- 10.1920/co.ifs.2023.0019
- Publisher
- BMJ
Suggested citation
Cribb, J. (2023). Falling employment and worsening health in the UK: connected or distinct trends? [Comment] BMJ. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/falling-employment-and-worsening-health-uk-connected-or-distinct-trends (accessed: 19 May 2024).
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