And young adults out of the labour market due to sickness are 50 per cent more likely to report a mental health problem than their older counterparts.
The Office for Budget Responsibility has already revised up their predictions for disability benefit spending over the next few years, adding an additional £2.2 billion by 2026-27. Currently there are 2.8 million claimants, whose payments cost the government £15bn per year. According to the IFS, 9.6 per cent of working-aged adults said sickness is hindering them, up from 8.5 per cent at the start of 2021.
Sam Ray-Chaudhuri, a Research Economist at IFS, said: “Worsening health seems to be behind the rise [in claims], but precisely why health is getting worse is a puzzle of its own. Whatever the cause, significantly greater spending on disability benefits looks like it will be one of the consequences of this concerning trend. “