UK sees record sickness and zero productivity growth in 2022
Send a link to a friend
[April 26, 2023] By
David Milliken
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain saw a record number of working days lost due
to short-term sickness last year and zero annual growth in economic
output per hour worked in the final quarter of 2022, according to
official data released on Wednesday.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics highlight the
challenges facing Britain as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, as
well its long-term struggle with productivity which has weighed on
living standards for years.
British workers took 185.6 million days off work due to sickness or
injury in 2022. This was more than during the height of the COVID-19
pandemic itself, when fewer sick days were recorded as millions of
workers were on furlough and lockdown restrictions reduced exposure to
minor illnesses.
The record partly reflects the growth in Britain's workforce over recent
years, but even measured as a percentage of hours worked, the sickness
rate was the highest since 2004, with 2.6% of hours lost due to sickness
or injury, up from 1.9% in 2019.
The rise in the percentage of days lost to sickness reverses a long-term
downward trend in ONS data going back to 1995.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Apr/26/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
Minor illnesses accounted for 29% of days lost, while respiratory
conditions accounted for 8% of days lost - up from 4% in 2019 - and
'other' conditions, which include COVID-19, diabetes and a range of
others - rose to 24% from 14%.
Sickness absence was most common among workers in the care sector and
related personal services roles.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/042623PIX/busine56.jpg)
Commuters walk across London Bridge
toward the financial district, in London, Britain, September 26,
2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Apr/26/images/ads/current/heartland_lda_040123.jpg)
Previous ONS data has shown a big rise too in long-term sickness
among working-age people outside the job market. A record 28.7% of
people classed as 'economically inactive' in the three months to
February 2023 said they were long-term sick, the most since these
records began in 1993.
Separate ONS figures on Wednesday showed continued weakness in
productivity at work, seen by most economists as the biggest
long-term challenge to living standards in Britain.
Output per hour worked was unchanged between the final quarters of
2021 and 2022. Since 2019 it has risen by 2.1%, reflecting a 1.6%
fall in the average number of hours each person works and a 0.5%
rise in output.
Earlier this year, the Bank of England forecast a weak outlook for
productivity in Britain, with growth in output per hour worked
averaging 0.25% a year over the next three years, down from 0.75%
between 2010 and 2019 and 2% in the decade before the 2008 financial
crisis.
Weak business investment, greater trade barriers due to Brexit and
deficiencies in employee and management skills are among the reasons
economists give for the poor performance.
(Reporting by David Milliken, Editing by William Maclean)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |