THE number of people signed off work through long-term sickness has hit a record of more than 2.8million, figures show.
It is an increase of 700,000 over the past three years.
Overall, there are now 9.4million economically inactive people aged 16 to 64 who are neither in, nor looking for, work, the Office for National Statistics says.
That is the highest total since 2012 — following the 2008 financial crash.
Bosses are also failing to fill 916,000 job vacancies and Ben Harrison, of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, says the UK is facing unresolved structural issues.
He added: “As we get closer to a General Election, supporting more people who are long-term sick into secure and sustained employment will be one of the central challenges of the next government.”
Critics point to NHS waiting times preventing some from returning to work.
Paul Nowak, boss of the Trades Union Congress, said: “NHS waiting lists are near record levels.
“But instead of taking responsibility, the Tories are attacking people who are too sick to work.”
The year-on-year rise in average earnings for the three months to February eased back to six per cent.
The unemployment rate also jumped over the same period to 4.2 per cent — the highest level for six months.
But Welfare Secretary Mel Stride said: “We’ve seen long-term, sickness-related inactivity rise since the pandemic. That’s why we introduced our £2.5billion back-to-work plan to transform lives and grow the economy.
“Our welfare reforms will cut the number of people due to be placed in the highest tier of incapacity benefits by over 370,000.
“As millions are benefiting from this month’s huge boost to the national minimum wage, it is work, not welfare, that delivers the best financial security for households.”
