Official Statistics

Economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over, trends over time: September 2023

Updated 24 October 2023

1. Introduction

The UK has an ageing population and workforce, therefore it is of growing importance to understand the economic labour market status of individuals approaching, at, and above State Pension age (SPa) and how trends are changing over time.

This publication details the trends over time, and comparisons with 35 to 49-year-olds, in the economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over. We have refreshed the name for the Fuller Working Lives (FWL) agenda to 50 PLUS: Choices. This signals the government’s recognition of the different situations, transitions and challenges currently faced by those aged 50 and over in the labour market.

Analysis is provided on the three headline measures announced in the Fuller Working Lives (FWL) Strategy 2017 that the government uses to monitor progress:

1. Employment rate of people aged 50 years and over, by five-year age bands and gender
2. Average age of exit from the labour market, by gender
3. Employment rate gap between people aged 50 to 64 and people aged 35 to 49 years, broken down by five-year age band and gender

This is an annual release and the next release will be in September 2024.

2. Main stories

The main stories are:

• the employment rate for 50 to 64-year-olds is not yet back to pre-pandemic (2019) levels, although it has increased over the past year. It is too early to determine if changes over the past year are short-term fluctuations or the beginning of a longer-term trend
• from 2019 to 2022 the employment rate of older adults decreased each year from a record high in 2019 of 72.5% to 70.7%. Over the past year, the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 years has increased by 0.6 percentage points to 71.3%, though this increase is not statistically significant
• the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 years has generally been statistically significantly increasing over the long-term. The employment rate increased by 4.0 percentage points in the last 10 years (from 67.3% in 2013) and by 7.3 percentage points over the last 20 years (from 64.0% in 2003)
• the employment rate gap between people aged 35 and 49 years and 50 to 64 years, has statistically significantly decreased in the last year, from 15.1 percentage points in 2022 to 14.2 percentage points in 2023. This is due to a decrease in the employment rate of people aged between 35 and 49 years and an increase in the employment rate for those aged 50 to 64 years
• the employment rate of women aged 50 to 64 years with no qualifications is 20.5 percentage points lower than that of men of the same age with no qualifications. Whereas there is only a 2.5 percentage point difference in the employment rate of men and women for those with degree level education
• the average age of exit from the labour market has decreased for both males and females over the past year. In 2022, the average age of exit for men was aged 65.4 years, decreasing by 0.1 years to 65.3 years in 2023, this is the same as the male average age of exit in 2019 and 2020. The 2022 average age of exit for women was 64.3 years and has decreased by 0.3 years to 64.0 years in 2023, this is equal to the female average age of exit in 2021
• the 2023 inactivity rate still remains higher than the pre-pandemic rate which was 25.5% in 2019. Although the rate has decreased by 0.8 percentage in the last year, from 27.4% in 2022 to 26.6% in 2023, this decrease is not statistically significant. It is again too early to determine whether the changes in inactivity over the past year are short-term fluctuations or the beginning of a longer-term trend
• around half of inactive 50 to 64-year-olds left their last job five or more years ago (51.0%) compared with a fifth (19.9%) who have left their jobs within the last two years
• being sick, injured or disabled continues to be the main reason why people aged 50 to 64 years are economically inactive in the labour market, this was the main reason given by 42.3% of older inactive adults
• the State Pension age has a statistically significant impact on employment and inactivity rates of older adults. Between ages 65 and 66 the employment rate decreases by almost 10 percentage points and the inactivity rate increased by a similar proportion
• older adults are more likely to be long-term unemployed (12 months plus) compared to those aged 35 to 49, with 37.5% of those aged 50 to 64 being long-term unemployed compared to 21.0% of those aged 35 to 49

3. What you need to know

This is the seventh annual publication on the economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over in the UK. It provides more detailed breakdowns of the labour market outcomes of older workers over time than those routinely published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in their monthly Labour Market Statistics. Previous versions of this publication can be found on the GOV.UK website.

When interpreting results, particularly comparing time periods, users should be aware of the potential effect of COVID-19 from 2020. This release covers the period up to April to June 2023.

The ONS published three research reports on 14 March 2022 in connection with older people in the labour market and the impact of COVID-19. Full details of findings can be found in the following links:

• Movements out of work for those aged over 50 years since the start of the coronavirus pandemic
• Reasons for workers aged over 50 years leaving employment since the start of the coronavirus pandemic
• Impact of coronavirus on people aged 50 to 70 years and their employment after the pandemic

Over the past year, we have developed this publication to better present the labour market picture for individuals aged 50 and over. This release contains additional breakdowns which can be found in the accompanying data tables 16 to 28.

The new data tables include:

• working patterns of older workers (hours worked, main work location, work pattern and current employment duration)
• additional characteristics of older people in the labour market (highest qualification level, ethnicity)
• the duration of unemployment
• when those who are inactive left their last job and inactivity by previous industry
• employment by sector and proportion of older workers within each sector
• single year age breakdowns of employment and inactivity rates
• local authority breakdowns of employment, unemployment and inactivity rates across England and Wales

Latest overall labour market statistics

Latest overall labour market statistics show the UK employment rate has largely been increasing since the end of 2020, however in the latest quarter, it has decreased and still remains below the pre-COVID-19 pandemic rate at 75.7%.

The overall unemployment rate increased from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the end of 2020, before dropping close to a 50 year low in June to August 2022. It has subsequently increased back above its pre-pandemic rate. The unemployment rate for April to June 2023 increased by 0.3 percentage points on the quarter to 4.2%, the largest quarterly increase since August to October 2021. This increase in unemployment was driven by people unemployed for up to 6 months.

The economic inactivity rate has been decreasing since its post-pandemic peak in May to July 2022 and has decreased by 0.1 percentage point on the quarter, to 20.9% in April to June 2023. Flows estimates also show that, between January to March 2023 and April to June 2023, there was a large net movement from economic inactivity into unemployment. However, those inactive because of long-term sickness has increased to the highest it has ever been in April to June 2023.

The ONS publish Experimental Statistics from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) system on the number of payrolled employees. Unlike the Labour Force Survey, which is the data source for this publication, payrolled data does not cover the number of people who are self-employed. The most recent estimate of payrolled employees for those aged 50 to 64 and those 65 and over for July 2023 reached the highest recorded level.

In relation to the period covered by the statistics in this release, between May 2022 and May 2023 the number of payrolled employees aged 50 to 64 increased by 125,000 to 8.1 million, whilst the number of employees aged 65 and over increased by 85,000 to 1.1 million.

Changes to State Pension age (SPa)

Recent trends in employment should also be considered in the context of changes to State Pension age (SPa). Since 2010, female SPa gradually increased from 60 years, rising to 65 years by November 2018, at which point it equalled male SPa. In October 2020, SPa for both males and females increased to 66 years. The second Government Review of State Pension age concluded that the planned increase in State Pension age from 66 to 67 will take place between 2026-2028. A further review of State Pension age will be conducted within two years of the next Parliament to consider age 68.

Working age is recognised internationally as people aged 16 to 64 years, whereby the State Pension age in the UK was formerly the upper limit. To understand trends over time, this release will continue to report on the 50 to 64 age group. However, data on people aged 50 to 65 years and more detailed tables containing statistics used in this release can be viewed in the tables accompanying this release.

Economic Labour Market Status

Employment and other labour market concepts used in this release are defined in the same way as National Statistics published by the ONS in their Labour Market Overview. The ONS definitions can be found on the ONS website. In this report, everybody aged 16 or over is defined as either employed, unemployed or economically inactive.

Employed is defined as being in work, including those working part-time and those who are self-employed.

Economic inactivity is defined as not working, have not been looking for work within the last four weeks or who are unable to start work within the next two weeks. Examples of economically inactive people include: people not looking for work because they are students; looking after the family or home; because of illness or disability or because they have retired.

Unemployment is defined as not working, have been looking for work within the last four weeks and are able to start work within the next two weeks. A common misconception is that the unemployment statistics are a count of people on benefits; this is not the case as they include unemployed people not claiming benefits.

The 2021 Census for England and Wales uses slightly different definitions for economic activity status.

Statistical significance

Comparisons made in the narrative of these Official Statistics have only been tested for statistical significance at the 95% level when stated that the comparison “is statistically significant” or “is not statistically significant”. Not all comparisons within the narrative have been tested for statistical significance. Within the commentary of our statistical bulletins, we will avoid using the term “significant” to describe trends in our statistics and will always use “statistically significant” to avoid any confusion for our users.

Read further details on statistical significance in the background information and methodology

4. Average age of exit from the labour market

The average age of exit from the labour market is broken down for men and women due to the historic difference of state pension age for men and women. See What you need to know for further details.

In 1950, the average age of exit of men was aged 67.2 years. The average age of exit for men fell until 1980, when there was a change to the data source. Details of the change can be found in the background information and methodology.

In 2023, the male average age of exit from the labour market was aged 65.3 years. This was lower than the average age of exit for men in 2022 (65.4 years) and the same as in 2019 and 2020 (65.3 years). During this time, the State Pension age for men and women increased from 65 to 66 years by October 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the labour market.

The male average age of exit has increased by 2.3 years since 1996 when it reached its lowest point of aged 63.0 years.

Average age of men and women exiting from the labour market, 1950 to 2023, UK

Source: Table 1 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

The average age of exit for women in 1950 was aged 63.9 years. The average age of exit fell, reaching its lowest point of 60.3 years in 1986. Since then, the average age of exit for women has increased by 3.7 years to aged 64.0 years in 2023.

Between 2009 (before the change to female SPa) and 2018, the period in which female SPa incrementally increased from aged 60 to 65 years to equal the male SPa, the average age of exit for females increased by 1.5 years, from 62.4 to 63.9 years.

The average age of exit of women continued to increase by 0.4 years to 64.3 years in 2020, when male and female SPa increased to 66 years.

Since 2022, the female average of exit has decreased by 0.3 years to aged 64.0 years, compared to aged 64.3 years in 2022.

5. Employment

The employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years was 71.3% in 2023. This rate has been increasing steadily since the mid-1990s when it stood at 57.2% in 1995. The employment rate for this age group was at its highest at 72.5% in 2019 and then it declined each year to 70.7% in 2022. In the past year, the employment rate has increased by 0.6 percentage points to 71.3%, although this increase in the employment rate is not statistically significant.

The gap between the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 years and people aged 35 to 49 years was 14.2 percentage points in 2023, a statistically significant decrease of 0.9 percentage points in the last year. This gap has statistically significantly narrowed for both men (by 1.1 percentage points) and women (by 0.8 percentage points) in the last year.

Employment rates of people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years, UK

Source: Table 2 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

Over the past ten years, the employment rates for each of the five-year age bands 50 to 54, 55 to 59, 60 to 64 and 65 to 69 have shown gradual upward trends. For both men and women aged 60 to 64 years the increase was statistically significant, and particularly marked amongst women (13.4 percentage points). There has been little change in the past year for most five-year age bands, apart from those aged 60 to 64 years who have seen an increase of 1.2 percentage points to 55.2%.

Employment rate by single year of age shows the impact of SPa on older adults, with the employment rate statistically significantly decreasing as individuals approach SPa. In 2023 at age 65 years, the employment rate was 42.0%, which then decreased at age 66 years to 32.3%. This trend is consistent between both men and women.

The employment rate of adults at age 65 has been increasing over time. In 2013 the employment rate of 65-year-olds was 27.7%, it increased to 29.5% in 2018 and further increased to 42.0% in 2023.

Employment rates by individual age, 2023, UK

Source: Table 19 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

The upward trend of employment rates for people aged 50 to 64 years over the past 25 years has been driven by increases in full-time and part-time employment. Whereas the upward trend of employment rates for people aged 35 to 49 has been primarily driven by increases in full-time employment, with part-time employment only slightly fluctuating around a similar proportion.

Compared with five years ago, in 2023 there was a smaller proportion of workers aged 50 to 64 in full-time employment (0.6 percentage point difference) and a greater proportion in part-time employment (0.3 percentage point difference).

Compared to 2022, the recent increase in employment rates for people aged 50 to 64 years appears to be driven by an increase in part-time employment. Those aged 50 to 54, 55 to 59, and 60 to 64 report increases in part-time employment of 0.7, 1.8 and 2.2 percentage points over the past year, respectively.

Women aged 50 to 64 years are considerably more likely than men of the same age to be in part-time employment, with around 3 in 10 women aged 50 to 64 years in part time employment in 2023 compared to around 1 in 10 men of the same age. This trend holds true across all five-year age bands where women are more likely to be in part-time employment than men.

The proportion of people aged 50 to 64 years in self-employment increased from 16.8% in 2022 to 17.9% in 2023. Conversely, the proportion of people aged 35 to 49 years in self-employment fell from 12.9% in 2022 to 12.5% in 2023.

Full-time and part-time employment rates of people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64, UK

Source: Table 4 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

Working patterns

In 2023, there was a similar distribution of hours worked for adults aged 35 to 49 years and aged 50 to 64 years. Around 35.0% of adults aged 50 to 64 years and around 40.0% of adults aged 35 to 49 years work more than 40 hours per week. Males aged 50 to 64 years were more likely to work longer hours per week than females, with twice as many males (32.0%) working 40 to 50 hours compared to females (15.4%).

Adults aged 50 to 64 years also have a broadly similar distribution across their main work location to those aged 35 to 49 years. Across both age groups, females are slightly more likely to mainly work at home compared to males, for example in 2023, 24.1% of females aged 50 to 64 years work mainly from home compared to 22.8% of males.

Working patterns between those aged 50 to 64 years and those aged 35 to 49 years are broadly similar. A key difference between genders across working patterns is term time working. Females, aged both 35 to 49 years and 50 to 64 years, are more likely to work term-time compared to males (8.0% of females compared to 1.4% of males aged 50 to 64 years).

Those aged 50 to 64 are less likely to work flexible working hours than those aged 35 to 49, with 15.1% of those aged 35 to 49 working flexitime compared to only 12.6% of older adults.

Employment by industry

Workers aged 50 to 64 years have a broadly similar distribution amongst industry sectors to those aged 35 to 49 years. Around one in six workers aged 50 to 64 years are employed in the banking and finance sector (17.9%) and around one in five of those aged 35 to 49 years are also employed in these sectors (19.7%).

The sector with the lowest proportion of people employed in both age groups is the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector.

The largest proportion of females aged 50 to 64 years are employed in the human health and social work activity sector (24.1%), this is followed by the education sector (17.3%), and then the banking and finance sector (16.3%). Similar rates are seen for the highest three proportions of female workers aged 35 to 49 years

In comparison, older males have a more even distribution across all industry sectors, with 19.5% of those aged 50 to 64 employed in the banking and finance sector, followed by transport and communication (15.4%) and then distribution, hotels and restaurants (12.5%).

Men aged 50 to 64 years are around three times as likely as women to be employed in manufacturing, more than three times as likely to be employed in the transport and communications sector and five times as likely as women to be employed in the construction sector. These gender trends are not specific to people aged 50 to 64 years and extend to people aged 35 to 49 years. Men aged 35 to 49 years are more than twice as likely as women to be employed in manufacturing, around five times as likely as women to be employed in the construction sector and more than twice as likely to be employed in the transport and communication sector.

Proportion of people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years employed by industry sector, 2023, UK

Source: Table 13 Economic Labour Market Status of Individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

Almost half (46.5%) of all people aged 16 to 64 employed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector are 50 to 64 years old. Out of all sectors, the distribution, hotel and restaurant sector had the lowest proportion of older workers as a proportion of those aged 16 to 64 years employed in the sector.

Even though those aged 50 to 64 are most likely to be employed in the banking and finance sector, this age group only makes up around 27.6% of all people aged 16 to 64 who are employed within this sector.

Individuals aged 50 to 64 years as a proportion of those aged 16 to 64 years who are employed within each sector, 2023, UK

Source: Table 21 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

Employment by region/country/local authority

Northern Ireland had the lowest employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years at 64.6% and was statistically significantly lower compared to England (71.8%). The employment rate in Northern Ireland was also lower than Scotland (69.1%) and Wales (71.0%) but the differences were not statistically significant.

Amongst the English regions, the South East has the highest employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years at 74.3%, while the North East has the lowest at 67.7%.

Although the employment rate between 2022 and 2023 has changed in all the English regions, these changes are not statistically significant.

In 2023, the employment rate gap between the North East and South East fell for those aged 50 to 64 years from 8.2 percentage points in 2022 to 6.6 percentage points in 2023. Over this time period, the employment rate for 50-64 year olds in the North East increased by 2.0 percentage points and increased by 0.4 percentage points in the South East.

The same trend can be seen between the North West and South West with the employment rate gap decreasing from 5.3 percentage points to 4.6 percentage points. This was mainly driven by the employment rate for those aged 50 to 64 years increasing in the North West. Conversely, the employment rate gap between the North West and South West increased for those aged 35 to 49 years, from 5.1 percentage points in 2022 to 6.0 percentage points in 2023.

There is variation in the employment rate gap between people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years across regions and countries. The lowest employment rate gap is in Yorkshire and the Humber (10.5 percentage points), whilst the North East has the largest gap (18.8 percentage points).

Employment rates of people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years by region, 2023, UK

Source: Table 14 - Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

The 2021 Census for England and Wales shows employment rates by local authority for those aged 50 to 64. The 2021 Census for England and Wales uses slightly different definitions for economic activity status.

The Isles of Scilly had the highest employment rate (79.5%) although the lowest employment level (400 people). This is followed by West Oxfordshire (77.8%) and South Cambridgeshire (77.4%). The local authorities with the lowest employment rates for individuals aged 50 to 64 years were Tower Hamlets (53.6%), Westminster (59.5%), and Manchester (59.8%).

Employment rates of people in England and Wales aged 50 to 64 years by Local Authority, Census 2021

Source: Table 28 - Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

Employment by ethnicity

Of ethnicities reported in table 22 with reliable sample sizes, any other Asian background ethnicity reported the highest employment rate for those aged 50 to 64 years (77.3%) whilst those of Pakistani ethnicity reported the lowest (53.3%).

For those ethnicities with reliable sample sizes, the employment rate gap of individuals aged 50 to 64 and aged 35 to 49 of Pakistani ethnicity was 20.9 percentage points, this was the largest employment rate gap across these ethnicity categories. Individuals of Pakistani ethnicity aged 50 to 64 had an employment rate of 53.3% compared to 74.2% for individuals aged 35 to 49. There was no employment rate gap between the two age groups for those of any other Asian background, with the employment rate being 77.3% for both age groups.

Employment by highest qualification

In general, as seen in table 23, the higher the education level obtained for individuals aged 50 to 64 years, the higher the employment rate. Individuals aged 50 to 64 years with degree level qualifications or equivalent are more likely to be in employment (78.6%) than those with no qualifications (45.0%).

The employment rate of women aged 50 to 64 years with a degree or equivalent (77.4%) is similar to men aged 50 to 64 years (79.9%). However, the employment rate of women aged 50 to 64 years with no qualifications (35.1%) is less than men of the same age (55.6%).

The largest employment rate gap between those aged 35 to 49 years and aged 50 to 64 years was individuals with a degree or equivalent, this was 13.2 percentage points, with those aged 35 to 49 more likely to be in employment. The smallest employment rate gap between the age groups was for individuals with ‘other’ qualifications (5.7 percentage points), followed by those with GCSE grades A-C or equivalent (9.6 percentage points).

6. Economic inactivity

Alongside an increase of 0.6 percentage points in the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 years between 2022 and 2023, economic inactivity has seen a decrease of 0.8 percentage points. This decrease is not statistically significant. The economic inactivity rate for people aged 50 to 64 years was 26.6% in 2023. It is not yet clear whether this decrease is a short-term fluctuation or the beginning of a longer-term trend.

The economic inactivity rate for both genders aged 50 to 64 years has generally been falling steadily since 1986, when it stood at 40.3%. Between 2020 to 2022 the trend reversed, and increases were observed consecutively over the three years. Although the economic inactivity rate has fallen in 2023, the inactivity rate is still 1.3 percentage points higher than it was in 2019 for women and 0.9 percentage points higher for men.

From age 50 onwards, the economic inactivity rate generally increases with individual age. In 2023, at age 50 the inactivity rate was 12.0%. This increased to 57.3% at age 65 years, 67.2% at age 66 years, and 75.9% at age 67 years.

The economic inactivity rate of people aged 65 years has been decreasing over time, in 2013 the inactivity rate was 71.9%, reducing to 70.1% in 2018 and further reducing to 57.3% in 2023.

Since 1995 the largest percentage point decrease in economic inactivity rates, for the 5-year age bands, has occurred for females aged 60 to 64 years (down by 25.8 percentage points from 74.3% to 48.5%); this corresponds with the increases in employment rates over this time period. For males, the largest percentage point decrease in economic inactivity has occurred for the 65 to 69 age group (down by 16.3 percentage points from 84.5% in 1995 to 68.2% in 2023).

Economic inactivity by five-year age bands, UK

Source: Table 6 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

Inactivity by country and region and local authority

In 2023, Northern Ireland had the highest economic inactivity rate for people aged 50 to 64 years (33.7%). This was statistically significantly lower than the economic inactivity rate in England (26.2%), Wales (27.2%) and Scotland (28.3%).

Compared to 2022, the economic inactivity rate in 2023 has decreased in all the regions in England apart from the South West (increased by 0.5 percentage points) and the West Midlands (increased by 0.9 percentage points). The largest percentage point decrease compared to 2022 was in the East of England (2.1 percentage points). It is too early to determine if this is a short-term fluctuation or the beginning of a longer-term trend.

In all the regions in England, the South East had the lowest economic inactivity rate for those aged 50 to 64 years (23.5%) and the North East had the highest economic inactivity rate for those aged 50 to 64 years (30.8%).

The 2021 Census for England and Wales shows inactivity rates by local authority for those aged 50 to 64 years. The 2021 Census for England and Wales uses slightly different definitions for economic activity status.

Tower Hamlets had the highest inactivity rate (41.2%), followed by Neath Port Talbot (37.4%) and Westminster (36.3%). The local authorities with the lowest inactivity rates for individuals aged 50 to 64 years were Isles of Scilly (19.8%, although the level was only 100 people), followed by West Oxfordshire (20.3%) and South Cambridgeshire (20.7%).

Economic inactivity rates of people in England and Wales aged 50 to 64 years by Local Authority, Census 2021

Source: Table 28 - Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

Reasons for not looking for work, individuals aged 50 to 64 years who are inactive

In 2023 there were 3.5 million people aged 50 to 64 years who were economically inactive in the UK, of which 1.4 million were men and 2.1 million were women.

Of the 3.5 million inactive individuals aged 50 to 64, just over 2 in 5 (42.3%) gave ‘sick or disabled’ as the main reason for not looking for work. This has increased by 3.2 percentage points in the past year. Nearly a third gave the reason ‘retired’ (30.9%), however this has decreased by 2.5 percentage points in the past year.

The remaining inactive people aged 50 to 64 years gave ‘looking after home or family’ (14.3%) or ‘other’ (12.5%) as the main reason for not looking for work. ‘Looking after home or family’ as a reason for inactivity remained the same as last year at 14.3%, whereas ‘other’ has decreased by 0.7 percentage points.

Reasons for not looking for work, individuals aged 50 to 64 who are inactive but are willing or would like to work

In 2023, there were around 460,000 people aged 50 to 64 years who were economically inactive but were willing to, or would like to, work. More than 3 in 5 of those who were economically inactive but willing to, or would like to, work gave the reason for not looking for work as being ‘sick, injured or disabled’ (62.1%); ‘looking after home or family’ was given as a reason by 13.5% and just under a quarter (24.4 %) gave the reason of “other”. This follows a similar distribution as in 2022.

Inactivity and previous employment

Over half of individuals aged 50 to 64 who were inactive in 2023 left their job five years ago or more (51.0%). A higher proportion of women (54.4%) aged 50 to 64 who were inactive left their job more than five years ago compared to men (46.2%). The next highest proportion were inactive individuals who had left their job 1 year ago but less than 2 years ago (10.3%).

In both 2022 and 2023 the highest proportion of individuals aged 50 to 64 that were inactive and left their job in the last 2 years, worked in the human health and social work activities sector (19.6% in 2022 and 17.6% in 2023).

Of those that are inactive due to retirement and left their job in the last 2 years, the highest proportion worked in the human health and social work activities sector (16.9%), followed by the public admin sector (15.9%).

Of those that are inactive for ‘other reasons’ and left their job in the last 2 years, again the highest proportion worked in the human health and social work activities sector (18.2%), followed by the distribution hotels and restaurants sector (17.3%).

7. Unemployment

Despite the increase in employment rates for people aged 50 to 64 years from 2022 to 2023, there has been an increase of 0.2 percentage points in the unemployment rate for the same age group. The increases over the past year in both the employment rates and unemployment rates of people aged 50 to 64 years were not statistically significant.

In 2023 the unemployment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years was 2.8%, compared with 2.6% in 2022.

The unemployment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years follows a similar overall trend to the unemployment rate for people aged 35 to 49 years, with both rates tracking very closely since 2014.

Unemployment rate for people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years, 1984 to 2023, UK

Source: Table 8 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

In the mid-1990s the unemployment rate for men aged 50 to 64 years was around 5.0 percentage points higher than the rate for women of the same age. At this time, women aged 50 to 64 years were more likely than men to be economically inactive. The gender difference in the unemployment rate started to narrow from the mid-1990s onwards.

In 2023, the unemployment rate for men aged 50 to 64 years was 1.0 percentage points higher than the rate for women aged 50 to 64 years, this is a statistically significant difference.

Older adults in general are more likely to be unemployed for a shorter amount of time than be long-term unemployed. In 2023, 62.5% of people aged 50 to 64 had been unemployed for less than 12 months, and 37.5% had been unemployed for more than 12 months (defined as being “long-term unemployed”).

However, when comparing the length of time of unemployment for people aged 50 to 64 years and 35 to 49 years old, adults aged 50 to 64 are more likely to be long-term unemployed. In 2023, 37.5% of those who were unemployed aged 50 to 64 were long-term unemployed compared to only 21.0% of those unemployed aged 35 to 49.

Length of unemployment for people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years, 2023

Source: Table 20 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

Of the 2.1 million people aged 50 to 64 years who were not in work in 2023 (those inactive or unemployed) and who had left their last job at some point in the last eight years, over one third (34.2%) gave a reason for leaving their last job as ‘retirement’. This has decreased since 2022 (from 37.0%).

Those leaving their last job due to health reasons has increased in the past year. In 2023, 24.0% of individuals had left their last job in the last eight years due to ‘health reasons’. This is an increase of 2.1 percentage points since 2022.

Dismissal and redundancy were the third largest reasons given and have fallen by 0.4 percentage points in the last year (from 15.2% to 14.8%).

Women are more likely than men to have left due to ‘looking after the home or family’ with 11.8% of females leaving due to this reason compared to 5.4% of males.

Reason for leaving last job, people aged 50 to 64 who are not in work, UK

Source: Table 15 Economic Labour Market Status of individuals aged 50 and over statistics.

8. About these statistics

These Official Statistics have been compiled using data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Census 2021 in England and Wales. The LFS is produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and follow the same definitions and UK coverage used in the ONS Labour Market Statistics bulletin. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) checks that the Census 2021 follows the Code of Practice for Statistics and has been confirmed as having National Statistics accreditation.

In Spring 2023, the Chief Statistician for Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) led an internal review of all Experimental Official Statistics produced by DWP. This is in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The review found that it was appropriate to remove the experimental label from this publication because it was concluded that the statistics are suitable and of public value. As of 7th September 2023, these statistics will now be classed as ‘Official Statistics’.

As part of continuing work to improve Labour Force Survey estimates (which have been affected by changes to survey operation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic), weighting methodology, improving estimates, were implemented with the latest reweighting from 14 June 2022, for periods from January to March 2020 onwards. Find more information on reweighting.

Pre-release access

In addition to staff who are responsible for the production and quality assurance of the statistics, up to 24-hour pre-release access is provided to Ministers and other officials. We publish the job titles and organisations of the people who have been granted up to 24-hour pre-release access to the latest Economic 50+ Labour Market Statistics.

Where to find out more

For more information on the LFS see the background information and methodology document released alongside these statistics.

This release, the summary tables and background information for the statistics, can be found on the Economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over page.

More information about the LFS can be found on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) QMI.

More information about the 2021 Census can be found on the QMI for Census 2021.

Contact information and feedback

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) would like to hear your views on these statistics. We would be interested in hearing what you use them for and how well they meet your requirements. Please e-mail at 50pluschoices.analysis@dwp.gov.uk

Press enquiries should be directed to the DWP Press Office: 020 3267 5144

Authors: Hannah Langston and Richard Stoneham

Lead Analyst: Millie Gallimore

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