Number of over-50s in work shows rise

An analysis by the TUC found that 64.9 per cent of people aged between 50 and 64 were in work last December, compared with 56.5 per cent in 1992.

Over the same period, the proportion of those over the age of 64 still working increased from 5.5 per cent to nine per cent, while young people have become less likely to be in a job.

In April 1992 48.8 per cent of 16- and 17-year-olds were in employment, but that figure had dropped to around 23.6 per cent by December 2010, said the report.

Around two in three of 18- to 24-year-olds were working in April 1992, but this fell to around 58 per cent by the end of last year.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The increasing number of over 65s in work shows that older workers are highly valued and that the Government is absolutely right to scrap the default retirement age.

“But there is a darker side to people to working beyond their retirement. Low wages and poor pension provision, particularly in the private sector, mean that many people simply cannot afford to retire at 65. The failure of far too many employers to help staff save for their retirement is forcing these people into pensioner poverty and placing a huge cost burden on the state.

“It is a mistake to blame older workers for youth unemployment – they tend not to be doing the jobs young unemployed people might expect to get. The main reason for young people’s jobs crisis is that there just aren’t enough jobs appropriate for young people being created. And of course the more people we have in work overall, the more the economy grows and the more jobs are created.

“We’ve seen record youth unemployment figures this year, and the Government’s decision to scrap the Future Jobs Fund, months before its poorly funded replacement was due to start, has helped drive the rise in the number of young people out of work.”