Magazine |
Number of older workers increases

The number of people who are over 50 and in employment rose by 53,000 in the first quarter of 2010. The labour market statistics also revealed, however, that this age group has the highest number of people in it who claim benefits and have been unemployed for more than 12 months.

There is also growing concern that cutting public spending and employment in the public sector will have a significant effect on older workers. Over a third (32.6%) of people who are 50 and in work, and 36.1% of people who are of state pension age are in paid employment, work in public administration, education or health sectors. These percentages are the highest among any age group according to the ONS Labour Force survey of 2009.

Chris Ball, chief executive of The Age and Employment Network, urged the government to be mindful of older workers and offer support, especially to those within the public sector: ‘The Prime Minister and his new team need to think urgently about what additional support they can put in place so that the many thousands of older workers who are likely to be joining the unemployment register soon, do not drift into premature and unwanted retirement.

‘We lost a generation of older workers in both the recessions of the 1980s and 90s, we simply can't allow that to happen this time around,’ he warned.