CBI responds to Labour Market Statistics - October 2024

Matthew Percival, Future of Work Director, CBI, said: 

“Five months of falling sickness-related inactivity is a welcome start to turning around the workforce shortages that have been a brake on growth in recent years.

“At the Budget later this month, the Chancellor has an opportunity to build on this start by implementing a comprehensive package of health tax incentives – like tax-free private medical treatment – which could help people back into the workplace.

“A recent CBI survey found 49% of businesses would reinvest the National Insurance savings into employee health support, with 26% investing even more. This could boost the economy by £8.57 billion and prevent more than 33,000 people annually from leaving the workforce due to ill health by 2030.

“In turn this produces a net gain for the public finances by 2036 through tax receipts from people staying in work, savings from reduced welfare payments and costs to the NHS.”