More than a third of workers (35%) in the north-west of England fear deteriorating health and ill health could force them to drop out of the workplace, research has suggested.
The analysis by the think-tank the Work Foundation at Lancaster University also found that four in 10 (40%) felt they had experienced a decline in their health in the previous 12 months that had affected the way they do their job.
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The analysis of the Annual Population Survey showed that there are an estimated 347,200 people not working or looking for work because of ill health in the north west, a rise of more than 75,000 people (or 5.5 percentage points) since before the pandemic in 2019.
The foundation is warning that the state of the north-west jobs market could worsen further unless action is taken to prevent more workers leaving employment.
Drilling down into the data, Lancashire had seen the largest increase in the region, the foundation said. The number of people there who are not working and not looking for work because of a long-term illness had risen by 18,000 (or 14.3 percentage points) from 26.5% in 2019 to 40.8% in 2024.
Currently, four in ten people in Cumbria were economically inactive because of long-term health (44.7%). This represented an additional 5,800 people (or 6.5 percentage points) when compared to 2019.
In Greater Manchester, meanwhile, there had also been above-average increases, with three in 10 people (31.5%) economically inactive because of long-term sickness, an increase of 34,400 or 5.6 percentage points since 2019. Cheshire and Merseyside, however, had had lower than national average growth over the past five years.
More positively, across the region as a whole, two-thirds (66%) of workers rated their physical health as good and 60% rated their mental health as good.
More than half stated their employer took their physical health (56%) or mental health seriously (54%). Yet more than a third of north-west workers also felt their job was bad for their health (39%).
Nearly two-thirds (64%) in the region had gone to work when sick and four in 10 (42%) stated they had missed or delayed medical appointments because of work.
Slightly over half (54%) of respondents said their employer did allow them to attend medical appointments during working hours without losing pay, although this was still lower than the 64% average across the UK.
Moreover, nearly half of north-west workers (47%) said they were not offered sick pay above the statutory minimum of £118.75 a week, compared with 39% of UK workers.
One in four north-west workers (24%) stated they did not feel confident taking sick days when they needed them.
The government’s Keep Britain Working review by former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield is set to have a key focus on tackling ill-health worklessness, and is expected to report this autumn.
However, the fact disability support and benefits have become such a political hot potato in recent weeks, with the government this week being forced to water down reforms to its Welfare Bill in the face of parliamentary rebellions, may mean ministers’ room for manoeuvre becomes more limited going forward.
Of the north-west analysis, Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said: “The north-west of England is facing a complex set of challenges when it comes to health and employment, leaving some employers facing worker shortages in key sectors.
“Over the past five years, there has been a significant increase in economic inactivity due to long-term sickness in parts of Lancashire, Cumbria and Greater Manchester.
“Our survey indicates that many workers across the region are facing health challenges and need support to ensure they can remain in work. Efforts to drive economic growth and prosperity in the region could be significantly undermined if these issues aren’t addressed,” Harrison added.
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