UK workforce shrinks after sharp rise in people choosing to leave work

Resolution Foundation says more than half a million more people are now economically inactive

The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has made Britain's workforce smaller, younger and more female after a sharp rise in people leaving work during lockdown, according to a report.

The Resolution Foundation said that while mass unemployment had been avoided during the Covid-19 emergency, there had been an increase in people who had exited the workforce and were no longer looking for a job.