Number of unemployed over-50s shoots up amid ‘silver exodus’ from workplace

theguardian.com:

The number of people aged 50-64 who are economically inactive in the UK has shot up to 3.6 million. It represents a rise of almost 10% since before the pandemic, providing powerful evidence of a post-Covid “silver exodus” from the workplace.

Other findings released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week – and seized upon by Labour as a sign of government failure at a time of near-record vacancies and labour shortages – include data showing that 375,000 over-50s were claiming unemployment benefits last month.

This total of over-50s in receipt of state help while looking for work has risen by 65,000 on the month immediately prior to the pandemic, and comes when job vacancies stood at over 1.274m.

The total of 375,000 over-50s on unemployment benefit is also 173,000 higher than five years ago. Among those who are 16-64 and classed as economically inactive, 20% (1.7 million people) want a job. The ONS’s Over-50s Lifestyle Study published in March found that 39% of those who left work or lost their job during the pandemic would consider returning to paid work in the future, with those in their 50s almost twice as likely to consider this (58%) than those aged 60 and over (31%). There were no significant differences between men and women.

Last night the shadow work and pensions secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, said that the latest data proved the need for radical reform of government assistance in helping people who want work to find employment as quickly as possibly.

“We’re in a cost of living crisis, with employers struggling to fill vacancies, yet ministers have sat back and allowed the workforce to shrink since the pandemic,” he said.

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