Why are so many Britons not working?
Don’t blame covid or NHS waiting lists. The problem is the welfare system
SLUGABED. Slowpoke. Idler. Loafer. The English language has many evocative terms for those seen as workshy. British politicians have made hearty use of them when debating economic inactivity. Economists, however, used to point out that Britain had a good record on this score. For two decades until 2019 its inactivity rate (the share of people of working age who are neither working nor looking for a job) was among the lowest of any rich country. Then something went awry. Pandemic lockdowns smothered economic activity everywhere. But whereas other economies bounced back—since 2020 the inactivity rate has fallen, on average, by 0.4 percentage points across the OECD, a club of rich countries—in Britain, uniquely, it continues to climb, and is up by 0.5 points. What’s going on?
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Why are so many Britons not working?”
From the September 16th 2023 edition
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