Chronic illness has overtaken unemployment as the primary reason for economic inactivity across the UK, according to data analysis by employee benefits provider YuLife.
Using 2024 data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) household annual population survey, the provider found that in every UK region, long-term sickness or disability is now more likely to keep people out of work than joblessness.
In total, more than four in ten people in workless households are not actively seeking employment due to chronic illness. In some regions, this figure rises even higher. It’s particularly notable in Northern Ireland, where 50.6 percent of people in workless households cite long-term sickness as the reason for not working. Other highly affected regions include Scotland (43.4 percent), Wales (43.3 percent), and North West England (43 percent), all with illness rates that vastly outweigh the proportion of people not working due to unemployment.
By comparison, traditional unemployment is responsible for far fewer cases of worklessness, with levels as low as 5.9 percent in Northern Ireland and 6.5 percent in Wales.
YuLife’s analysis highlights stark regional contrasts. The East of England (32.8 percent), South East (33.3 percent), and South West (33.7 percent) report the lowest sickness-related inactivity levels.
The data has prompted the provider to urge employers to take a proactive approach to protect workforce health. It said that support such as helping employees to build healthy habits and offering them access to early interventions via workplace benefits, for both mental and physical health issues, could make a measurable difference in the hardest hit areas.
Sammy Rubin, CEO and founder of YuLife, said: “We know that prevention works, but it has to start early, long before someone ends up on long-term sick leave. By turning everyday wellbeing into something visible, trackable, and rewarding, we help people take small steps that add up to major health outcomes. And for employers, that’s not just good for people, it’s good for business too.”
