Data dashes hopes that effects of pandemic would subside and labour market would return to pre-Covid state

The number of people out of work due to ill health is growing by 300,000 a year, according to fresh analysis by a leading health thinktank.

People of working age who quit their job due to ill health were also three times less likely to return to employment than those in good health, adding to the number of people claiming disability benefits, the Health Foundation said.