Economic inactivity in the over-50s took an upturn during the pandemic, reversing the downward trend of the previous 10 years.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of people aged 50 to 70 years who moved from economic activity to inactivity between the second and third quarters of 2021 was 87,000 higher than in the same period in 2019. That is contributing to the more than 1 million drop in the size of the workforce and why unemployment is at a low of below 4% while job vacancies are at near record levels.
Some 75% of these older workers who left employment did so of their own accord, citing varying reasons such as feeling undervalued, seeking early retirement or simply not wanting to work anymore. But there is a need for their return.