The number of working-age adults in the UK who are economically inactive due to illness has exceeded three million for the first time.
New figures released by the Office for National Statistics revealed that there were 2,829,000 adults aged 16 to 64 not working due to long-term sickness in the three months to February this year.
Long-term sickness remains the leading cause of economic inactivity in Britain.
In addition, there were 206,000 working-age adults not in jobs due to "temporary", or short-term, sickness.
It is the first time on record that the combined figures have exceeded three million workers.
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The number out of work due to long-term sickness is up by 43% compared to 1,979,000 in December 2018-February 2019.
The increase has been steepest, at 48%, for working-age females.
Economic inactivity due to short-term sickness for all adults aged 16-64 is also up by 9%, from 189,000 in December 2018-February 2019 to 206,000.
Think tank, Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), said the UK was in the grip of a "perfect storm" of poor public health and an NHS crisis, with record numbers currently on elective waiting lists for surgery.
Chris Thomas, head of IPPR’s Commission on Health and Prosperity, said: “The number economically inactive due to sickness have, once again, come in at the highest since records began.
"Economic inactivity due to long-term sickness stands at 2.83 million, while the number not participating in the labour market due to long-term and short-term illness combined has broken three million for the first time ever.
“A perfect storm of an NHS crisis, poor public health – driven by mouldy housing, toxic air and a broken food system - and among the highest health inequalities of any comparable country have made the UK the literal ‘sick man of Europe’.
"And that is doing profound harm to our national economy.
“It is time for this government to recognise that better health is the clearest, untapped path to prosperity."
In Scotland, there were more than 155,300 people on an NHS waiting list for an inpatient or day case procedure by the end of last year, compared to roughly 77,600 at the end of 2019.
More than 7000 patients had been waiting over two years for their procedure.
There were also 525,000 people in Scotland waiting for an appointment at an outpatient clinic.
The ONS figures also show that there were 1,110,000 working age adults were economically inactive due to retirement, although this is down very slightly from 1,111,000 in December 2018-February 2019.
The number of adults aged 16-64 who were economically inactive because they "do not want a job" has risen from 6,707,000 to 7,701,000 over the past five years.
Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation at Lancaster University, said Britain has become “an international outlier with participation rates below pre-Covid levels”.
He said: “Since December 2019 to February 2020, 717,000 people have become economically inactive due to ill health and the tide is not turning.
“As we get closer to a general election, supporting more people who are long-term sick into secure and sustained employment will be one of the central challenges of the next Government.”
Jane Gratton at the British Chambers of Commerce said businesses will struggle unless more potential workers are brought back into the jobs market.
She said: “We are concerned by the growing number of people not looking for work, with a large chunk of those out of action due to long-term health issues.
"More must be done to help people with ill health stay in work and to help employers understand how best to support them.
“Until we get more people permanently back into the workplace then the upside risks of higher inflation and interest rates will remain.”
Tony Wilson, director at the Institute for Employment Studies, said the latest statistics are "truly awful", adding that the declining labour market is "holding back growth - not the other way round".
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