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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Patrick Butler Social policy editor

About 1,500 Britons a day quitting their jobs to become unpaid carers

A carer holds an older woman's hand
The surge in unpaid carers reflects both an ageing population and a rise in children and working age adults with disabilities or long-term health conditions. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

About 1,500 Britons a day are quitting their jobs to become unpaid carers, as they try to balance their vulnerable relatives’ growing care needs with declining access to state-funded social care services.

Research estimates that more than a million people have left the workplace to look after ageing, ill and disabled loved ones in the past two years, highlighting the social challenges caused by UK’s rapidly changing demographic profile.

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