One in 10 workers has illness or disability

One in 10 workers in the Republic suffers from a long-standing illness or disability, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO)have shown.The research reveals that 271,000 people aged between 15 and 64, about 10 per cent of the labour force, believe they have a long-term health problem or disability.

A long-standing health problem or disability is one that has affected a person over the past six months or is likely to affect them over the coming six months.

The incidence of such conditions varies according to age, with a quarter of all people aged between 55 and 64 suffering from an illness or disability. This compares with 5 per cent in the group aged between 15 and 24.

Among adults who judge themselves to suffer from a long-term illness or disability, 40 per cent were in employment when the survey was conducted. This compares to 65 per cent of the entire labour force aged between 15 and 64.

Within the group reporting a health problem or disability, people aged between 25 and 34 recorded the highest employment rate of 55.6 per cent.

The lowest participation rate - 27 per cent - was found among those aged between 55 and 64.

Agriculture is shown to be the sector with the highest proportion of disabled or ill workers, a result that CSO statisticians attributed to the comparatively older workers involved in agricultural activities.

Public-sector workers also reported a high incidence of disability or long-term illness.

Of the workers who consider themselves to have a long-standing illness or disability, more than three-quarters are engaged in full-time rather than part-time employment. The majority are employees rather than employers.

Those reporting a disability or health problem spend an average of 36.1 hours a week at work, compared to 37.7 hours a week for the rest of the working population.

The most prevalent illness or disability to be reported related to chest or breathing problems, which were reported by 41,500 people. The next most common problems were associated with heart, blood pressure or circulation conditions (39,200), and back or neck conditions (37,800).

The most widespread causes of disability or long-term health problems were not work-related.

About 15 per cent of people reporting a long-term illness or disability have suffered from their conditions since birth, while just less than one-third have had their problem for more than 10 years.

The results show that long-term illnesses and disabilities are more prevalent among separated or widowed people than in the remainder of the population.

More than one-fifth of all separated people of working age consider themselves to be ill or disabled, while almost one-quarter of all widowed people place themselves in the same category.