[UK] Highest recorded rate of economic inactivity among men over 50

A study of ONS data has found that economic inactivity among older men below retirement age has reached its highest level since records began, People Management reports.

The analysis of employment data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), conducted by Rest Less, found the number of men aged between 50 and 64 who were not employed or looking for work had increased to nearly 1.5 million this year.

This was reportedly a jump of 179,000 (13 per cent) since the start of the pandemic and the highest level since 1992 when the ONS started collecting comparable data.

Currently, the rate of economic inactivity among men aged 50 to 64 is at a nine-year high of 23.1 per cent, reversing a long-term downward trend that had lasted nearly 30 years.

Data from December 2021 to February 2022 additionally showed that half (51 per cent) of men aged 50 to 64 had been unemployed for at least 12 months, while since March 2020 nearly a quarter of a million (245,000) men over the age of 50 have claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance and/or some out-of-work Universal Credit benefits, an increase of 37 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.

Stuart Lewis - chief executive of Rest Less - said this analysis should “send much-needed alarm bells ringing”. 

Although some in this age group will have made the personal choice to stop working - “re-appraising what’s important to them” following the pandemic - Mr Lewis said many will have been forced to stop working by poor health, caring responsibilities or redundancies and may not be “financially or emotionally prepared” for such a big change.

Workers in their 50s and 60s were also found to be less likely to receive workplace training and more likely to face age discrimination in the recruitment process than their younger counterparts, he said, making them “significantly more likely to end up in long term unemployment” once out of work.

This “mass exodus” of experienced workers posed a risk to business and society, Mr Lewis said, “Not only does this equate to a serious loss of talent but it also impacts on team productivity, efficiency and cognitive diversity within teams.”

Rest Less carried out an analysis of a separate set of data from the ONS and found one in five (22 per cent) over-50s who had left the workforce during the pandemic would not rule out returning to work either through employment or self-employment. This rose to 31 per cent among those under the state pension age.

The study also showed men were more likely than women to consider returning to employment after leaving, with 25 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women reporting this.

Mr Lewis said the survey should be a “massive wake-up call” for employers. “Progressive employers that invest in measures such as flexible working, all-age apprenticeships and retraining and upskilling for employees of all ages” are more likely to benefit from the skills of this experienced group, he said.

Source: People Management

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

A study of ONS data has found that economic inactivity among older men below retirement age has reached its highest level since records began, People Management reports.

The analysis of employment data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), conducted by Rest Less, found the number of men aged between 50 and 64 who were not employed or looking for work had increased to nearly 1.5 million this year.

This was reportedly a jump of 179,000 (13 per cent) since the start of the pandemic and the highest level since 1992 when the ONS started collecting comparable data.

Currently, the rate of economic inactivity among men aged 50 to 64 is at a nine-year high of 23.1 per cent, reversing a long-term downward trend that had lasted nearly 30 years.

Data from December 2021 to February 2022 additionally showed that half (51 per cent) of men aged 50 to 64 had been unemployed for at least 12 months, while since March 2020 nearly a quarter of a million (245,000) men over the age of 50 have claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance and/or some out-of-work Universal Credit benefits, an increase of 37 per cent on pre-pandemic levels.

Stuart Lewis - chief executive of Rest Less - said this analysis should “send much-needed alarm bells ringing”. 

Although some in this age group will have made the personal choice to stop working - “re-appraising what’s important to them” following the pandemic - Mr Lewis said many will have been forced to stop working by poor health, caring responsibilities or redundancies and may not be “financially or emotionally prepared” for such a big change.

Workers in their 50s and 60s were also found to be less likely to receive workplace training and more likely to face age discrimination in the recruitment process than their younger counterparts, he said, making them “significantly more likely to end up in long term unemployment” once out of work.

This “mass exodus” of experienced workers posed a risk to business and society, Mr Lewis said, “Not only does this equate to a serious loss of talent but it also impacts on team productivity, efficiency and cognitive diversity within teams.”

Rest Less carried out an analysis of a separate set of data from the ONS and found one in five (22 per cent) over-50s who had left the workforce during the pandemic would not rule out returning to work either through employment or self-employment. This rose to 31 per cent among those under the state pension age.

The study also showed men were more likely than women to consider returning to employment after leaving, with 25 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women reporting this.

Mr Lewis said the survey should be a “massive wake-up call” for employers. “Progressive employers that invest in measures such as flexible working, all-age apprenticeships and retraining and upskilling for employees of all ages” are more likely to benefit from the skills of this experienced group, he said.

Source: People Management

(Links and quotes via original reporting)