Number of people in UK with long-term sickness rose to record 2.5m in July

Almost 400,000 have exited jobs market with long-term health problems since early 2020, ONS says

• Analysis: UK unemployment is low but workers face pay squeeze

The number of workers experiencing long-term sickness reached a record high of 2.5 million in July, even as unemployment dropped to levels last seen in 1974.

Official figures giving an overview of the jobs market showed more than 150,000 workers joined the list of people with persistent ill-health in just two months to the end of July.