• There were 7.89 million people of working age in the UK in the three months to September 2005 who were neither working nor seeking work - the economically inactive.
• Despite relative stability in overall inactivity rates, there have been different trends for men and women. Among men the inactivity rate has grown from 4.9 per cent in 1971 to 16.6 per cent in 2005. In comparison, the female inactivity rate has declined from 40.6 per cent in 1971 to 26.4 per cent in 2005.
• The largest group among the economically inactive is those looking after the family and home. The size of this group has, however, declined over recent years as more women, particularly those with children, enter the labour market.
• In autumn 2005, 2.1 million people were inactive due to long term sickness, 27 per cent of all those who were inactive.
• The inactive student group has increased over the past decade, so that in autumn 2005 they represented 23 per cent of all working-age inactive people.
• Economic inactivity rates are highest among those with no qualifications and lowest for those with a degree or equivalent.
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Economic & Labour Market Review (ELMR) – February 2009