Economic Inactivity

‘Economic Inactivity’ is the broad term used to measure people who are not in work but are not ‘unemployed’: they have not been seeking work within the last four weeks or they are unable to start work in the next two weeks.

People can be economically inactive for a range of reasons:

• ‘Students’ – in education
• ‘Looking after family or home’ – e.g. looking after young children
• Temporary sickness
• Long term sickness or disability
• Retirement among people who are working age
• ‘Discouraged’ workers (who are not looking for work because they believe no jobs are available)
• ‘Other’ can include people who (i) are waiting the results of a job application, (ii) have not yet started looking for work, (iii) do not need or want employment.  

Economic inactivity is a persistent, but changing, challenge for Scotland with the rate being consistently higher than the UK in recent years. This can be largely explained by a larger percentage of people giving long-term sickness or disability as the reason for being inactive.

Economic inactivity can be a positive choice but can also be a negative outcome. The challenge varies for people and places across Scotland but long term sickness remains a consistent issue. Multiple barriers can affect a single individual, and individual circumstances contributing to inactivity, and the primary reasons given for inactivity in survey responses are not necessarily experienced in isolation.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling this challenge but support is available for those who need it. Employability services are person-centred, all-age and tailored to your needs. Find out more about support available by clicking on Local Authority Employability Services in the useful links below.

We are progressively adding new content to this webpage. Further updates to follow in due course.