Uptick in UK's Over-50s Job Hunting Amid Cost of Living Crunch

As the cost of living crisis continues its relentless squeeze on UK households, people over the age of 50 are increasingly opting to continue working rather than take early retirement, a think-tank has revealed, warning that this is no cause for rejoicing.

With the country battling the highest inflation rate in at least four decades - standing at 10.1 percent in January 2023 - an increasing number of people in the 50 to 64-year range are hunting for jobs to make ends meet, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

According to the analysis carried out by the think-tank, the trend for older people to seek employment picked up in late 2022 and in the last quarter of that year showed a significant surge.

Twitter screenshot of post by Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Earlier, labor shortages in the UK were seen as being driven by an inclination towards early retirement among middle-aged Britons. In November 2022, 13.3 percent of businesses surveyed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a shortage of workers. The Treasury and the Bank of England analyzed the factors behind these developments, and urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to find ways to reverse the trend, such as implementing changes to pension rules.

“The increase in economic inactivity since the pandemic is a focus for the current government, with policies aimed at boosting workforce participation expected in the forthcoming budget. Most of the rise in inactivity has been among 50 to 64-year-olds. New data provide tentative indications that the trend may be turning - though it is too early to say for sure - probably reflecting financial pressures from the cost of living crisis,” the IFS report stated.

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The figures cited by the IFS were related to older individuals who had given up work since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and been "inactive" for less than three years.

“New data from the end of 2022 suggest that we may be seeing an uptick in older people returning to the workforce, and that more may follow. If ‘un-retirements’ continue, this could ease pressures on the labor market. But if the return is triggered by the cost of living crisis, it is no cause for wider celebration - it is a response to people becoming poorer," warned Xiaowei Xu, senior research economist at IFS.

Uptick in UK's Over-50s Job Hunting 'No Cause for Celebration' if Driven by Cost of Living: IFS