How Britain’s worklessness crisis has spiralled

All of this has had a damaging impact on both Britain’s economic competitiveness and the taxpayers’ pocket as benefits payments balloon.

Pre-pandemic, the UK boasted the second best record on worklessness in the G7, with a lower level than France, Germany, Italy, the US and Canada.

But while the labour markets in those countries have all recovered from the blow of Covid, three years on from the end of lockdowns Britain’s has not. 

The UK is now the only member of the world’s wealthiest club of nations to still have higher levels of economic inactivity now than before the pandemic.

At the same time, with government budgets tighter than in years, the sickness benefits bill has spiralled by almost two-thirds, from £42.3 billion to £69 billion.

The post-pandemic spike means the Exchequer is now spending more cash on welfare payments to the long-term ill than it does on schools or policing.

In a damning analysis this week, the Work Foundation called the UK an “international outlier” in its failure to tackle worklessness.

“Compared to other European nations, where the post-pandemic rises in inactivity have returned to normal, the UK’s rate remains stubbornly high – and this month’s data shows that the tide isn’t turning,” it warned.