Research highlights need for greater support for job-seekers with poor health

Posted on 10 May 2012

Research conducted at the University of York suggests more support is needed for job-seekers with poor health.

Trends across forty years show that those with poor health are now less likely to find and keep a job - compared to those who enjoy good health - than they were in previous years.

The research looked at whether people of working age were working (in employment), job seeking (unemployed), or weren't in the labour market (economically inactive). It compared this with their current or most recent occupation, and whether they considered themselves to have a limiting long-term illness (LLTI).

The researchers found that the difference in employment rates of people with a LLTI compared to similar people without a LLTI – the ‘employment penalty’ for being of poorer health – has become larger over time.

For more information visit http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2012/research/job-seekers-health/