Unemployed over 50s are two and a half times as likely as younger age groups to be out of work for at least two years, according to new analysis from Rest Less, the digital community for the over 50s.
Rest Less analysed unemployment data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) issued in December and found the following:
- There are 407,000 unemployed over 50s in the UK, making up one in four (24%) of all unemployed people
- 30% of unemployed over 50s have been out of work for at least a year and 20% have been out of work for at least two years. This compares with 20% and 8% of under 50s respectively. This means the over 50s are two and a half times as likely as under 50s to be unemployed for at least two years and one and a half times as likely to be unemployed for at least one year
- Unemployment levels amongst the over 50s in August to October had increased by 34% since the beginning of the year (January to March) – the biggest percentage increase of all age groups. The overall increase in unemployment levels was 24%.
The official definition of long-term unemployment is being unemployed for at least a year. Rest Less’s analysis is based on unemployment data issued by the Office of National Statistics in December 2020, covering the period August-October 2020
