Older worker employment still stalling two years on from pandemic

Two years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic inactivity in people aged 50-64 continues to rise, with 27% of all people of this age group neither in work nor looking for work – up from 25.4% two years ago.

New figures released today also show that the employment rate gap between those aged 35-49 and those aged 50-64 continues to widen, rising 1.5 percentage points in two years.

We're urging employers to adopt flexible working policies and remove age-bias from their recruitment processes if they wish to attract – and keep – older workers as part of the ongoing skills shortage. With 69,000 fewer people aged 50-64 in employment than two years ago, the progress of older workers continues to lag behind their younger counterparts.

“The UK workforce participation crisis is continuing – driven by older workers leaving the labour market. There are 246,000 fewer people aged 50-64 participating in the workforce than there were at the start of the pandemic.

“This means there could be up to a quarter of a million older workers out of employment earlier than they had planned, potentially impacting their retirement plans, while companies are missing out on the positive impact older workers can bring.

“Last week’s Queen’s speech was a lost opportunity to tempt those lost workers back into the workplace, with long-promised legislation on Carer’s Leave and flexible work nowhere to be seen.

“But faced with high vacancies and skills shortages, savvy employers will be doing whatever they can to make the most of the older workforce, and ensuring they have robust flexible work policies in place to support workers of all ages to stay and thrive in work.”