The relationship between employment and wellbeing is addressed in a document set to go before health chiefs this week.

The year's Public Health Annual Report will be considered by members of the council's health and wellbeing board on Wednesday.

It takes a look at Bolton’s work profile and highlights the importance of being employed in a good job that could directly improve a person’s health.

In Bolton, the employment rate is around 70 per cent which is not far behind the national average of 74 per cent, but this still leaves almost 12,000 residents who are out of work due to sickness.

This results in higher rates of mortality, cardiovascular disease, mental health illness and musculoskeletal conditions, highlighting the importance of helping people into employment.

But good quality employment is essential as poor working conditions are also bad for health and wellbeing.

Bolton Council Cllr Linda Thomas, said: “This is a very thorough and far-reaching report which addresses the need for everyone to have access to a job that contributes to their health and wellbeing in a positive way.

“Being out of work can be detrimental to a person’s health and we will continue to work with our partners to tackle the barriers to employment. However, having a job with low pay and poor conditions can also affect our health and lead to long periods of absence, so it is imperative that we all strive to provide good quality employment for all.”

Bolton Council’s Director of Public Health, David Herne, added: “We can never underestimate the importance of good health, especially as we are an ageing population that will be in work for longer.

“The relationship between health and employment is significant to our future as a community. In Bolton, our aim is to create an active, prosperous and connected community and integral to achieving that is the opportunity for everyone to access employment that will give them a good standard of living and is beneficial to their health.”

Ways to get people into good quality employment in the borough include the

Bolton Working Well Programme.

This supports people into work via a dedicated worker and enables access to a range of services, including mental health support.

It works with organisations such as Bolton CVS and the Team Bolton Partnership to increase the number of good quality jobs in the borough.

Bolton is also closely linked to the Greater Manchester Working Well strategy, which aims to support people into work and training.

The borough will also be an early adopter of the Greater Manchester Work and Health strategy, which will involve local GPs to help prevent people becoming long term unemployed due to health reasons.

The annual report also acknowledges the need for early preventative measures and states that all partners should be committed to boosting educational attainment, particularly in the most disadvantaged communities.

Equally, the report highlights the need to consider Bolton’s ageing population and continue to provide the same access to healthy work opportunities for older employees.

The report will be considered by the council's health and wellbeing board on Thursday.