The number of days taken off work through sickness or injury has dropped to the lowest  rate per person since records began, according to new research.

The Office for National Statistics has estimated that nearly 140 million working days were lost, the equivalent to 4.3 days per worker.

It is the lowest recorded rate since the series began in 1993, when the number was 7.2 days per worker.

ONS statistician Brendan Freeman said: "Since 2003, there has been a fairly steady decline in the number of working days lost to sickness, especially during the economic downturn.

"In recent years, there has been a small rise in the number of days lost, but due to an increasing number of people entering the workforce, the rate per worker and overall sickness absence rate have stayed largely flat."

The 137million working days lost to sickness or injury in 2016 contrasts with a peak of around 185million days lost a year in the late 1990s.

Thereafter, the number of days declined to a low of 132million days in 2013.

Minor illnesses, such as coughs and colds, accounted for the most days lost due to sickness in 2016, with 34million days lost (24.8 per cent of the total days lost to sickness) followed by musculoskeletal problems (including back pain, neck and upper limb problems) at 30.8million days (22.4 per cent).

Mental health issues (including stress, depression, anxiety and more serious conditions such as manic depression and schizophrenia) resulted in 15.8million days being lost (11.5 per cent).

Employees tend to have a higher rate of sickness absence than the self-employed - in 2016 it was 2.1 per cent for employees and 1.4 per cent for the self-employed.

Since 1994 (the earliest data available) public sector employees have had consistently higher rates than those employed in the private sector, though both sectors have seen an overall decrease, and the gap between them has generally narrowed.

In 2016, the figures were 2.9 per cent for the public sector and 1.7 per cent for the private sector.

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