Exploring how personal health affects economic activity
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is working with NHS England (NHSE) to conduct pioneering research to understand how chronic health conditions and medical interventions affect employment and earnings. The research will use linked individual-level health and economic data. This work supports the government’s mission to reduce health-driven economic inactivity and informs broader policy decisions across health, social care, and the economy.
Using an ONS Trusted Research Environment (TRE), analysts are linking HMRC Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) tax records with NHS electronic health records and Labour Force Survey responses. This powerful dataset enables detailed analysis of how hospitalisation, treatments, and long-term conditions influence labour market participation. Early findings — such as the effects of bariatric surgery and NHS talking therapies — have already shaped spending decisions in recent fiscal statements.
The programme is expanding to include conditions like:
- endometriosis
- adverse pregnancy events
- diabetes
- musculoskeletal issues
It also explores how employment outcomes are affected by multiple health conditions — known as ‘multimorbidity’ — and waiting times for treatment. Public understanding and ethical use of linked data are central to this work.
This growing evidence base will help form the basis of future budget decisions and policy interventions, including the NHSE Health and Growth Accelerators outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper. By quantifying the economic impact of ill-health, ONS is helping to build a healthier, more economically active society.
Dr Emma Sharland
The groups' main areas of focus are currently on Health and the Economy, looking at the effects of different health conditions and interventions on outcomes such as employment, earnings and benefits use, and health inequalities. Recent publications from the group have looked at the effects of pregnancy loss, endometriosis and hospitalisation for major conditions on labour market outcomes, and how geographic inequalities can affect premature mortality rates.