The rise in entrepreneurialism among older workers post COVID-19

We are in the middle of the toughest employment market in a generation, which has impacted workers of every age – whether through new working arrangements, being placed on furlough or being made redundant. Whilst the focus has largely been on younger workers, official data is now starting to show the extent of the impact on older workers too. There are worrying predictions that the crisis will result in disproportionate underemployment, long term-unemployment and economic hardship for years to come for many in their 50s and 60s.

However, there are small pockets of hope emerging. Last year, workers aged over 50 made up 45% of all self-employed workers. At Rest Less, we expect this figure to increase significantly this year as experienced older workers who have driven the UK’s employment growth over the past 20 years, pick themselves up and find their own way to put their skills to good use. At a time when age discrimination is increasing and government support and intervention is focused squarely on the young, many older workers are finding themselves unwillingly at the back of the long and winding jobs queue. Against this backdrop, the idea of setting up your own business can be a powerful answer to age discrimination in the recruitment process, one where you can demonstrate your qualifications through hard work and success and where there is already evidence of age leading to entrepreneurial success.

Rest Less’s analysis shows that in 2019, there were just under five million self-employed workers in the UK (4.97m) of which over 2.26 million were aged over 50. When we conducted a poll of our own members aged 50 or older, 52% said they were considering self-employment with nearly half (46%) saying they were doing so out of choice, one in five (18%) saying it was out of necessity and a third (35%) saying it was a mix of both.

Anecdotally we are increasingly hearing interesting and inspiring stories of entrepreneurialism forged from the difficult situations that our members find themselves in. For example, a merchandise expert who in her younger years never had the confidence to set up her own business, but after being placed on furlough and subsequently made redundant this year, felt she had nothing to lose.

Turning to self-employment at any stage of life is not an easy task, but when compared with the alternatives, it appears that increasing numbers of talented over 50s are deciding to invest in themselves, rather than waiting for employer attitudes to change and the labour market to improve. The irony is that it takes incredible resilience, confidence and determination to succeed as an entrepreneuer – all traits that are highly valued by the businesses who are shunning older workers in the first place. If you are over 50 and are considering setting up your own business, you can read our guide to self-employment and some popular self-employment ideas.