A RECORD number of people have left the job market due to long-term ill-health, official figures have revealed. 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 per cent over the three months to August – the lowest level in almost 50 years. 

But the figures show that the fall has partly been driven by a sharp rise in the number of working-age people becoming “economically inactive,” meaning they are not employed nor looking for work.