315,000 people in Northern Ireland out of work as new £16m commission launches

Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, Economy Minister, Caoimhe Archibald and Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt with Commission Chair, Alan Milburn (second from right).

More than 315,000 working-age people in Northern Ireland are currently economically inactive — the highest rate anywhere in the UK — with disability and long-term ill health now driving more than a third of those cases.

The stark figures come as Stormont ministers unveiled a new cross-government Commission on Work and Wellbeing backed by £16 million in transformation funding aimed at helping more people with health conditions and disabilities move into — and stay in — employment.

The initiative, led by the Department for Communities and chaired by former Labour cabinet minister Rt Hon Alan Milburn, has been tasked with examining why so many people are being locked out of work and how public services can better respond.

The Commission will investigate the links between economic inactivity, poor health, disability, poverty and social exclusion, before producing recommendations designed to reshape how health, skills, employment and community services work together across Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s economic inactivity crisis

Northern Ireland continues to record significantly higher economic inactivity levels than the rest of the UK, with 26.5% of the working-age population currently outside the workforce.

That equates to around 315,000 people.

Of those, disability and ill health are cited as the primary reason for inactivity in 36.4% of cases.

The issue has become an increasing concern for government departments, employers and health organisations amid ongoing labour shortages, growing pressure on public services and rising concerns over long-term poverty and exclusion.

Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons with Commission Chair, Alan Milburn.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said the problem had become deeply connected to wider social and economic inequalities.

He said:

“Economic inactivity is a long-standing issue for Northern Ireland and is linked to poverty, poor health and social exclusion.

“The establishment of the Commission reflects my commitment to tackling these issues, and the Executive’s shared commitment to improving work, health and societal outcomes for our people.

“In partnership with the Department of Health and Department for the Economy, I have tasked the Commission with producing recommendations that would see our system better support people to progress towards and into work.”

What the new Commission will do

The Commission on Work and Wellbeing has been established as an independent body and forms part of a broader “Pathway to Work and Wellbeing” programme funded through Northern Ireland’s Public Sector Transformation Fund.

Its role will be to examine how disability and ill health impact people who are unemployed, economically inactive, or struggling to remain in work.

An outcome report is expected during the first year of the project and will recommend how services can be redesigned to provide more joined-up support for people facing complex barriers to employment.

Ministers say the aim is to create stronger integration between:

• health services

• employability support

• skills and training programmes

• community and voluntary sector support

• local government services

The first meeting of the Commission took place on 30 April.

Stormont departments combine efforts

The initiative is being jointly delivered by the Department for Communities, Department of Health and Department for the Economy.

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald said a more joined-up system was needed to tackle problems that no single department could solve alone.

She said:

“Challenges of this scale and complexity require the whole system to work together.

“By aligning skills, employment and health services, we are taking a more joined-up approach that puts people first and helps ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, our economy.”

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said the project would focus on improving long-term wellbeing as well as employment outcomes.

“I want more people to thrive and find satisfaction in the workplace,” he said.

“It will explore stronger integration between local employment, skills, health and community supports, targeting system redesign and opportunities for new ways to deliver more effective services, and to support people to access and remain in employment.”

Alan Milburn warns poor health is holding back growth

Commission chair Alan Milburn said Northern Ireland’s economic inactivity problem was now having wider consequences for economic growth and workforce shortages.

“Poor health is holding back too many people in Northern Ireland and it is dampening economic growth,” he said.

“Employers are short of skilled labour but there is a pool of talent locked out of the labour market.

“By working independently with employers, educators and local services, the Commission will identify new ways of bridging that gap.”

Who is on the Commission?

Commission members have been drawn from business, healthcare, local government, academia and the voluntary sector.

Members include:

• Rt Hon Alan Milburn – Lead Commissioner

• Denise Hampson – founder of Desire Code

• Colum Boyle – former senior civil servant

• Dr Adrian Johnston MBE – Belfast Innovation Commissioner

• Suzanne Wylie OBE – CEO of the NI Chamber of Commerce

• Liam Devine – CEO of Clanrye Group

• Michael Smyth – HR Group Director at Graham Construction

• Dr Joanne McClean – Director of Public Health

• Amanda Stewart – Interim CEO of NI Youth Forum

• Karen McFarland – Director of Health and Communities at Derry City and Strabane District Council

• Eleanor Hudson – Director of Contract Management at BT Group

• Maureen O’Reilly – economist

• Jacqueline Dixon MBE – Chair of Belfast Met Governing Body

Why this matters locally

The scale of economic inactivity affects communities across Northern Ireland, including towns such as Ballymena where long-term health conditions, disability and economic pressures continue to impact families, employers and public services alike.

For many employers, recruitment shortages remain a growing challenge, while thousands of people with skills and experience remain outside the workforce because of physical health, mental health or disability-related barriers.

Stormont ministers now hope the Commission’s findings will help redesign how services operate on the ground — particularly for people who often fall between healthcare, employment and welfare systems.

The £16 million investment will support the rollout of a redesigned Health and Work model intended to help more people not only access jobs, but remain in sustainable employment over the long term.

Rather than focusing solely on unemployment figures, the Commission is expected to examine the deeper social and health factors driving economic inactivity and how government services can respond more effectively in the years ahead.