More than a million fewer UK workers than before pandemic

Disruption to healthcare and declining mental health has also been a factor in driving people out of the workforce, said the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Its report claimed that the UK’s “deep” health inequalities mean people are living shorte r lives, suffering more ill-health and facing greater barriers to staying in work.

The IPPR warned that if the issues are not resolved, they will drag down economic activity this year by an estimated £8 billion.

It said the relationship between health and the economy is a decisive factor in the UK’s “terminally low” productivity, low growth, and regional inequalities.

Researchers said people living in the most economically deprived parts of the country, including Blackpool, Knowsley and Barking & Dagenham, can on average expect to fall into poor health in their late 50s, five years earlier than the national average and 12 years sooner than people living in the healthiest area in the country – Wokingham.

This is largely down to factors such as low-quality housing, bad jobs, low wages and chronic stress, the report said.

The think tank is launching a new cross-party Health and Prosperity Commission to study the connection between health and the economy.

Dame Sally Davies, former chief medical officer and co-chairwoman of the commission, said: “While the restrictions have eased, the scars of the pandemic still remain deep on the nation’s health and our economy.

“Not only are we facing a severe cost-of-living crisis, driven in part by pandemic-induced inflation, we’re also experiencing a workforce shortage driven by poor health that’s holding back the economy.

“It has never been more important to put good health at the heart of our society and economy, and our commission will bring forward a plan to do just that.”