Disability, Ill health, Carers and Poverty

The number of working-age adults who are out of the labour market, known as "economically inactive" because of long-term sickness, has been rising since 2019.

For those claiming Universal Credit, the largest increase seen over the past few years has been in the 'No work requirements' group, which comprises people who cannot do paid work due to health conditions or caring responsibilities. This group has increased significantly by 9,162 (415%) since the pre-Covid period (taken from January 2020). This group represents 53% of the total West Lothian UC caseload in March 2025.

Scotland Labour Market Insights for April 2025 show that "Long-term sick or disabled" was the main reason given for being inactive in Scotland. Latest estimates show that 33.7% of inactive people aged 16 to 64 gave their reason for being inactive as "long-term sick or disabled". The proportion of people long-term sick or disabled had been gradually decreasing over time. However, since the Pandemic in 2020, it has been increasing in recent years for both Scotland and the UK.

This rise in long-term sickness started before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but since the pandemic hit the UK in early 2020, the number of people out of work because of long-term sickness has risen significantly.