Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of endometriosis on (a) employment, (b) economic inactivity and (c) labour market participation.

The Department publishes the employment rates and labour market status of disabled people using the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The LFS collects data on main or secondary health conditions, but does not specifically collect data for endometriosis.

Research from the ONS using linked data from 2016 to 2022 found that the probability of being a paid employee significantly decreased after an endometriosis diagnosis, decreasing by 2.7 percentage points in the four to five years post-diagnosis. Among those in paid work, monthly pay decreased on average from one to five years after the condition was identified, compared with the two years prior, reaching an average decrease of £56 per month in the four to five years post-diagnosis; this suggests that, following the diagnosis, women in work may be taking lower-paying jobs or working fewer hours.