Number of over-50s in work hits record 8.2m

RECORD numbers of people aged over 50 are in work, official figures revealed last night.

More than 8.2million people aged between 50 and 64 have jobs, up by 235,000 in the past 12 months. Employment of over-65s is also up with 1.14million in work, a rise of 39,000.

Pensions minister Baroness Altmann welcomed the figures but warned businesses they were not making the most of the skills of older people.

She said: ‘Record numbers of older people are bringing their skills, talents and experience into the UK workplace, which is good news for people’s incomes, their future pensions, and the overall economy.

‘But with 735,000 vacancies in the economy today, businesses are still not making the most of the opportunities that this huge pool of talent has to offer.

‘This Government wants to see employers do even more to eradicate outdated misconceptions and age discrimination, so that employers realise the benefits when they retain, retrain and recruit staff who are over 50.’

Estimates put the number of people in the 50-65 age group who are out of work at 1.2million. Ministers want more of these people to find jobs.

By 2022 the number of those aged over 50 but under the state pension age will i ncrease by 3.7million.

At the same time, the number of working age under-50s will fall by 700,000. Officials say this means older people must be given a chance to remain in work.

Despite the growing number of older workers, over-50s are the group least likely to be hired again once they are out of work.

Research suggests older workers can be more reliable than younger colleagues. A study of over-65s by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin found they performed tasks more consistently than twenty-somethings did.

A report earlier this year by the charity Business in the Community warned that millions of job vacancies will go unfilled if companies continue to waste the talents of over-50s.

Businesses which do not ‘tap into’ the supply of older workers will f ace major recruitment challenges in the future, it said.