Introduction to a forthcoming series of articles on inactivity in the United Kingdom. The trends in economic inactivity for men and women show different patterns. Inactivity rates for women have declined while for men the inactivity rate has increased over the same period. There has been an increase in the proportion for the group of men who are long-term sick or disabled and for women there has been a decline in the proportion who are inactive due to looking after a family or home.