Could reducing the “age employment gap” achieve the government’s 80% employment aim?

The new government has set a target to achieve an 80% employment rate among 16-64 year olds

There is currently a gap between the peak employment years in the middle stage of people’s careers (ages 25 to 49) and those who are younger and older.

50 to 64 year olds have an employment rate of 71% (an “age gap” of 14% points with 25 to 49 year olds) and just 53% of 16 to 24 year olds are in employment (an “age gap” of 32% points with 25 to 49 year olds). Our new analysis shows that halving the “age employment gap” would achieve the government’s 80% employment ambitions.
 

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There are a number of reasons why people may choose to not work such as early retirement but more could be done to close this gap.

Whilst the government has committed to a Youth Guarantee to help those ages 18-21 there are no guarantees for those aged over 50 who may be facing challenges in work such a long-term health conditions, caring responsibilities or disabilities.

Here at the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement we are calling for further action for over 50s including:

• Development of a cross departmental strategy that recognises the unique challenges and opportunities for people aged over 50 covering policies around retention, recruitment, training, support and health.
• Promotion of inclusive employment practices such as flexible work, paid carers leave, support for health and wellbeing across workplaces to nurture an age-friendly culture.
• Active career management which addresses the employment advice gap and supports career moves, job changes and helps people back into work. Employment support and career advice need to be available to everyone so that workers can find the right job and return to work with confidence.
• Focus on lifelong learning, skills and training to close the skills gap and increase adult participation in further education to ensure that we are reskilling all age groups. Local skills strategies should also reflect local need and demographics to support local economic growth.

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