Chancellor urged to reform childcare and stop urging over-50s to unretire

theguardian.com:

Britain risks ending the decade with the lowest rates of workforce participation in almost 30 years unless the government takes urgent action to reform childcare and help people with health conditions, according to a leading thinktank.

Calling on the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to act at next month’s budget, the Resolution Foundation said the government’s efforts to boost Britain’s workforce should focus on supporting parents to return to work, as well as ensuring sufficient help is available for older workers and those with health issues or a disability.

It urged the government to drop a focus on “unretiring” people who had left the workforce since the beginning of the Covid pandemic. This echoed an intervention on Monday by experts who said ministers were “barking up the wrong tree” with their hope that persuading the over-50s to return to work could solve Britain’s labour shortages.

Without a change of course from the government, the Resolution Foundation said the UK risked a continued increase in the rate of economic inactivity – when working-age adults are neither in a job or looking for one – adding to pressure on employers struggling to find staff.

It said the UK was on track for an economic inactivity rate among 15- to 75-year-olds of 30.8% by 2030, the highest level since 2001. The rate now stands at 29.5%.

The intervention came as ministers explored options for boosting workforce participation as a significant part in next month’s budget, with a review being undertaken by the work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride. The government has so far focused on addressing early retirement, with Hunt urging the over-50s to “get off the golf course”.

However, a report from the pensions consultancy LCP published on Monday showed