Since the mid-1990s there has been a rapid rise in the number of older people in work. In spring 2003 seven in ten people aged between 50 and State Pension Age, and almost one in ten people over State Pension Age, were working. Several organisations promote the place of older people in the workplace, including Age Concern, the Government’s Age Positive campaign, the Employers’ Forum on Age and the Third Age Employment Network.
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This factsheet is for older people in work or looking for work, as well as those who wish to continue working. It does not cover issues such as parental rights. New legislation in 2006 will address the issue of age discrimination in employment, and one of Age Concern’s key areas of policy work is in campaigning against age discrimination.
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The Statistical Report indicates changes and trends in the labour market activity of older workers.
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Key FACTS AND FIGURES on Older Workers AUTUMN 2004
Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (Autumn 2004 – Great Britain[1])
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There are over 19 million people aged 50 and over in Great Britain. 8.79 million are aged between 50 and State Pension Age[2] (SPA) and account for 24.9% of people aged 16 to SPA.
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70.7% of those aged 50 to SPA are in employment. This is lower than the employment rate for people aged 25 to 49 (81.5%) but higher than those aged 16 to 24 (61.5%).
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1.4m individuals claiming sickness and disability benefits[3], and 185,000 ILO unemployed.
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The difference between the employment rates of those aged 50 to SPA and all people aged 16 to SPA has decreased 0.8 percentage points to 4.5%, since Autumn 2003.
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Older workers are more likely to be working part-time than the 25 to 49 age group. 24.9% of those in work in the 50 to SPA age group are working part-time compared to 21.1% in the 25 to 49 age group.
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Variations in older workers’ employment rates across English Government Office Regions and countries range from 75.7% in the East of England Region to 58.6% in the North East of England Region.
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Self-employment is more common amongst older workers compared to the younger age groups. 17.7% of those in work in the 50 to SPA age group are self-employed, which is higher than the 25 to 49 age group (12.2%) and those aged 16 to 24 (3.7%).
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Older workers have spent, on average, 12.5 years in their current employment, which is longer than the younger age groups.
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Older people have fewer qualifications than their younger counterparts. 22.6% of the 50 to SPA age group have no formal qualifications.
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Older people’s ILO unemployment rates are lower than those of their younger counterparts. The ILO unemployment rate for those aged 50 to SPA is now 2.9% and for the 25 to 49 age group it is 3.4%, whilst for the 16 to 24 age group is 12.6%.
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Variations in older workers’ ILO unemployment rates across English Government Office Regions and countries range from 1.7% in the South West of England Region to 6.6% in the Inner London Region.
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Older people are much more likely to be long-term unemployed. 34.1% (37.7% in Autumn 2003) of the unemployed 50 to SPA age group have been unemployed for over a year.
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