Official Statistics

Economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over, trends over time: September 2025

Published 30 September 2025

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.

Analysis is provided on the three headline measures used 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

In addition to the measures outlined above, analysis is provided on wider characteristics of those aged 50 and over such as data on economic inactivity rates, reasons for inactivity, employment by industrial sector and region, employment by ethnicity and education as well as working patterns.  

This is an annual release and the next release will be in September 2026.

2. Main stories

The main stories are:

• from 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 2022 the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 years decreased each year from a record high in 2019 of 72.6% to 70.4% in 2022, from where it has increased each year since. Over the past year, the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 years has increased by 0.7 percentage points to 71.6%, this change is not statistically significant
• the employment rate gap from people aged 35 to 49 years and 50 to 64 years has stayed approximately the same in 2025 (14.1%) as in 2024 (14.2%). This continues the trend of a statistically significant decrease in the employment rate gap between 2023, when the gap was 14.5 percentage points. This is due mainly to an increase in the employment rate of people aged 50 to 64 years and a smaller increase in the employment rate for those aged 35 to 49 years
• of the countries in the UK, Wales had the lowest employment rate among those aged 50 to 64 years at 63.5%, with the highest employment rate in England at 72.4%. Wales has seen an increase in the employment rate of those aged 50 to 64 years from 2024 to 2025, with the employment rate increasing by 3.3 percentage points, though this increase is not statistically significant
• the employment rate gap between individuals with no qualifications and those holding any type of qualification was larger than any employment rate gap observed between the levels of qualification obtained. For example, the employment rate gap between individuals aged 50 to 64 years with no qualifications and those with ‘GCSE grades A-C or equivalent’ was 22.2 percentage points in 2025. This is statistically significantly larger than the employment rate gap between those with ‘GCSE grades A-C or equivalent’ and degree level qualifications, with the gap standing at 9.5 percentage points in 2025
• the average age of exit from the labour market has increased for both men and women over the past year, once again reaching the highest recorded level on ONS data since annual reporting began in 1984, though this year’s increase is smaller than that between 2023 and 2024. In 2024, the average age of exit for men was aged 65.7 years, increasing by 0.1 years to 65.8 years in 2025. The 2024 average age of exit for women was 64.6 years and has increased by 0.1 years to 64.7 years in 2025
• the inactivity rate in 2025 for those aged 50 to 64 continues to remain higher than the pre-pandemic rate which was 25.5% in 2019. However, the rate has decreased by 1.2 percentage points in the last year, from 27.3% in 2024 to 26.1% in 2025, this change is statistically significant
• the economic inactivity rate for women aged 50 to 64 remains statistically significantly higher, at 30.0% in 2025, when compared to men of the same age (22.0%)
• 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, with 44.7% of inactive individuals giving this as the main reason
• of economically inactive people aged 50 to 64 years, women (18.1%) were twice as likely as men (7.7%) to report ‘looking after home or family’ as the main reason for not looking for work, a statistically significant difference. Meanwhile, the proportion of men giving the main reason as ‘retired’ (32.5%%) was statistically significantly higher than women (26.9%)
• the State Pension age has a statistically significant impact on employment and inactivity rates of older adults. From age 65 to 66 the employment rate decreases by 12.8 percentage points and the inactivity rate increases by a similar proportion (13.9 percentage points)
• the unemployment rate for those aged 50 to 64 has increased by 0.7 percentage points from 2.4% in 2024 to 3.1% in 2025, a statistically significant change. The unemployment rate for this age group has been fluctuating, though generally on a downward trend, over the past ten years, with lows of 2.4% in 2024 and 2.6% in 2022.
• over the past year, of those who are unemployed, the gap between those aged 50 to 64 and aged 35 to 49 who are long-term unemployed has statistically significantly decreased from 4.4 percentage points to 1.6 percentage points
• around 876,000 individuals aged 50 to 64 are either actively seeking work, or are inactive but are willing or would like to work

3. What you need to know

This is the ninth 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. Read previous versions of the Economic labour market status of individuals aged 50 and over releases.

This release uses data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is produced by the ONS. This covers the period up to April to June 2025. It should be noted that on 16 September 2025, the ONS released their latest labour market statistics which cover a later period from May to July 2025. We use quarter 2 (April to June) of the LFS to produce the most consistent analysis over the full time period from 1984 to 2025, read more about this in the background and methodology document accompanying this release. Therefore headline rates and levels will not match the latest labour market statistics release, but are covered by the previous labour market releases.

Recent increased volatility of Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates, resulting from smaller achieved sample sizes, means that the quality of quarterly changes should be treated with caution. The ONS recommends using these statistics as part of a suite of labour market indicators, alongside Workforce Jobs, Claimant Count data and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) estimates.

Due to this, caution is also advised when interpreting short-term changes in headline rates and it is advised to make longer term comparisons that offer more stability.

When interpreting results, particularly comparing time periods, users should be aware of the potential effect of COVID-19 from 2020.

The ONS published 3 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 using 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

Latest overall labour market statistics

For the period covered by this release, April to June 2025, the ONS labour market statistics show the UK employment rate (for people aged 16 to 64) was estimated at 75.3%, above estimates of a year ago, and has increased in the latest quarter by around 0.3 percentage points. It still remains lower than the pre COVID-19 pandemic rate.

The overall unemployment rate increased from the 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 people aged 16 to 64) for April to June 2025 increased by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter to 4.7% and is above estimates of a year ago.

The economic inactivity rate (for people aged 16 to 64) increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since fluctuated around this increased rate.  The economic activity rate for April to June 2025 decreased by 0.4 percentage points on the quarter to 22.2%, which is its lowest rate post-pandemic. The largest reason for inactivity is due to long-term sickness, which has remained the biggest reason since September to November 2021.    

The ONS publish Official Statistics from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) PAYE RTI system on the number of payrolled employees. Unlike the LFS, 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 July 2025 shows the number of payrolled employees fell by 0.5% compared to a year ago, when payrolled employee numbers peaked, a fall of 164,000. The number of payrolled employees who are aged 50+ also fell compared to a year ago and now stands at 9.4million employees.

According to Pay as You Earn Real Time Information, in relation to the period covered by the statistics in this release, between May 2024 and May 2025, the number of payrolled employees aged 50 to 64 decreased by 34,000 (0.4%) to 8.1 million, whilst the number of employees aged 65 and over increased by 37,000 (2.8%) to 1.3 million. During the same period, payrolled employees aged 35 to 49 increased by 72,000 (0.7%). 

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, women’s SPa gradually increased from 60 years, rising to 65 years by November 2018, at which point it became the same as men’s SPa. In October 2020, SPa for both men and women increased to 66 years. Under Section 27 of the Pensions Act 2014 the Secretary of State has a statutory duty to periodically review whether the existing rules about State Pension age are appropriate. To date, there have been two statutory Government reviews of State Pension age.

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 of the working age definition (aged 64). 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
• people looking after the family or home
• because of illness or disability
• 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.

Statistical significance

Comparisons made in the narrative of these this release 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 document accompanying this release.

4. Average age of exit from the labour market

In the context of an ageing population, and increases in life expectancy, it is increasingly important to understand whether people are continuing to work or spending more time in retirement or other forms of economic inactivity. 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 for 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. Since this point, the average age of exit for men has been steadily increasing.

The average age of exit for men has increased by 2.8 years since 1996 when it reached its lowest point of aged 63.0 years. The average age of exit fell slightly after the COVID-19 pandemic to 65.1 years in 2021 and has since fluctuated but shown a gradual upward trend. During this time, the State Pension age for men and women increased from 65 to 66 years by October 2020.

In 2025, the average age of exit for men from the labour market reached the highest recorded level using ONS data, at age 65.8 years, an increase of 0.1 years compared to 2024.

The average age of exit for women in 1950 was 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 4.4 years to 64.7 years in 2025, the highest recorded level using ONS data.

Between 2009 (before the change to SPa for women) and 2018, the period in which SPa for women incrementally increased from age 60 to 65 years to equal the SPa for men, the average age of exit for women 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 SPa for men and women increased to 66 years.

Since 2021 the average age of exit for women has followed a similar upward trend to men, rising from 64.1 in 2021 to 64.7 in 2025. This includes an increase of 0.1 years over the past year from 64.6 years in 2024 to 64.7 years in 2025.

Average age of men and women exiting from the labour market, 1950 to 2025, UK

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

5. Employment

The employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years was 71.6% in 2025. 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 72.6% in 2019 and then it declined each year to 70.4% in 2022. In the past year, the employment rate has increased by 0.7 percentage points to 71.6%, this increase is statistically significant.

The employment rate gap between those aged 35 to 49 years and those aged 50 to 64 years stood at its lowest point in 2019 at 12.6 percentage points. Since then, it steadily increased to 15.0 percentage points in 2022 but has statistically significantly decreased over the past two years, reaching 14.1 percentage points in 2025.

Over the past two years, the employment rate gap has decreased for men by 0.5 percentage points and has decreased for women by 0.3 percentage points, although this is not statistically significant in both cases.

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 rate for those aged 50 to 54 and 55 to 59 has been relatively flat, with fluctuations across this period. In comparison, those aged 60 to 64 and 65 to 69 have shown gradual upward trends. For both men and women 65 to 69 years, the increase was statistically significant and particularly marked amongst women aged 60 to 64 with a statistically significant change of 14.2 percentage points. By comparison, the employment rate for men aged 60 to 64 increased by 3.0 percentage points over the past 10 years, which was not statistically significant. Over the past year, the employment rate for all the above five-year age bands have increased with the largest increase for those aged 55 to 59, increasing by 1.4 percentage points to 75.0%, though this change is not statistically significant.

As people approach SPa, the rate of employment statistically significantly declines, and the inactivity rate statistically significantly rises as people leave the labour market “early”. Over half (57.9%) of men and women are not in work in the year before reaching SPa.  In 2025 at age 65 years, the year before SPa, the employment rate was 42.1%, which then decreased at age 66 years to 29.3%.

However, the employment rate of adults at age 65 has been increasing over time and has seen one of the largest increases in employment rates compared to other individual age bands from age 50 to 75 over the last 10 years. In 2015 the employment rate of 65-year-olds was 27.5%, it statistically significantly increased to 40.7% in 2020 and further increased to 42.1% in 2025, though the increase from 2020 to 2025 is not statistically significant. This increase is likely to be largely driven by changes to SPa over this period.

Employment and Inactivity rates by individual age, 2025, UK

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

The upward trend of the employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years over the past 25 years has been driven by increases in both full-time and part-time employment. This increase is primarily driven by an increase in full-time employment, notably women in full-time employment, with the employment rate for women working full-time increasing by 14.2 percentage points since 2000.  Whereas the upward trend of the employment rate for people aged 35 to 49 has been driven by increases in full-time employment only, with part-time employment only slightly fluctuating around a similar proportion.

Compared with five years ago, in 2025 there was a decrease in the proportion of workers aged 50 to 64 in part-time employment (0.2 percentage point reduction) and an increased proportion in full-time employment (0.1 percentage point increase), although these changes are not statistically significant.

Compared to 2024, the recent increase in the employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years appears to be driven mainly 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 0.8, 0.5 and 0.8 percentage points over the past year, respectively. Those aged 55 to 59 saw a 0.9 percentage point increase in full-time employment, while those aged 50 to 54 saw no change and those aged 60 to 64 saw a 0.3 percentage point drop. None of these changes were statistically significant.

Women aged 50 to 64 years are statistically significantly more likely than men of the same age to be in part-time employment, with around three in ten (27.7%) women aged 50 to 64 years in part time employment in 2025 compared to around one in nine (10.9%) men of the same age. This trend holds true across all five-year age bands between ages 50 and 64 years where women are more likely to be in part-time employment than men.

The proportion of employed people aged 50 to 64 years in self-employment (as opposed to being employees) increased from 16.9% in 2024 to 17.2% in 2025. Conversely, the proportion of employed people aged 35 to 49 years in self-employment decreased from 13.0% in 2024 to 12.1% in 2025. Those aged 50 to 64 years are still more likely to be self-employed than those aged 35 to 49. Neither of the changes in self-employment, for people aged 50 to 64 or people aged 35 to 49, were statistically significant.

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 2025, there was a similar distribution of hours worked for adults aged 35 to 49 years and aged 50 to 64 years. Around 67.6% of adults aged 50 to 64 years and around 74.0% of adults aged 35 to 49 years work 30 hours or more per week. Women aged 50 to 64 years were more likely to work fewer hours per week than men, with twice as many women (43.5%) working under 30 hours compared to men (21.8%) this difference is statistically significant. This is broadly similar to the trends seen for those aged 35 to 49 years.

Adults aged 50 to 64 years follow a similar distribution across their main work location to those aged 35 to 49 years, with the majority of those in employment mainly working at ‘somewhere quite different from home’. This holds true for both men and for women across both age groups.

Working patterns between those aged 50 to 64 years and those aged 35 to 49 years are relatively similar. A key difference between genders across working patterns is term-time working. Women aged 50 to 64 years are around five times more likely to work term-time compared to men in 2025 (7.3% of women compared to 1.4% of men aged 50 to 64 years). This difference is statistically significant.

Employment by industry sector

Workers aged 50 to 64 years have a broadly similar distribution amongst industry sectors to those aged 35 to 49 years. The most likely sector for individuals in both age groups to be employed in is the banking and finance sector, with 17.6% of workers aged 50 to 64 years and 18.9% of those aged 35 to 49 years employed in this sector the difference between the proportions between age groups is statistically significant.

The sector with the lowest proportion of people employed in both age groups is the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, with only 0.9% of those aged 50 to 64 years and 0.5% of those aged 35 to 49 years employed in this sector.

The largest proportion of women aged 50 to 64 years are employed in the human health and social work activity sector (24.3%), this is followed by the banking and finance sector (16.6%), and then the education sector (16.4%). This trend remains similar to the previous year.

In comparison, men aged 50 to 64 years have a more even distribution across all industry sectors, with 18.5% of those aged 50 to 64 employed in the banking and finance sector, followed by transport and communication (14.9%) and then distribution, hotels and restaurants (12.9%). Again, these trends remain similar to that of the previous year.

Men aged 50 to 64 years are around two times as likely as women to be employed in manufacturing, (12.5% compared to 5.2%), around three times as likely to be employed in the transport and communications sector (14.9% compared to 4.6%) and five times as likely as women to be employed in the construction sector (10.9% compared to 2.0%) all of these differences are statistically significant.

Proportion of people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years employed by industry sector, 2025, UK

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

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 28.4% of all people aged 16 to 64 who are employed within this sector. Meanwhile, less than 1% of those aged 50 to 64 are employed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, but this group makes up 40.3% of all people aged 16 to 64 employed in this sector.

Out of all sectors, the distribution, hotel, and restaurant sector had the lowest proportion (23.1%) of those aged 50 to 64 as a proportion of those aged 16 to 64 employed in the sector and the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector having the highest proportion of those aged 50 to 64 employed.

Individuals aged 50 to 64 years as a proportion of those aged 16 to 64 years who are employed within each sector, 2025, UK

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

Employment by region/country

Within countries in the United Kingdom, Wales had the lowest employment rate among those aged 50 to 64 years at 63.5%, with the highest employment rate in England at 72.4%. Although Wales has the lowest employment rate, it has seen the highest yearly increase of all the countries from 2024 to 2025 with the employment rate increasing by 3.3 percentage points, though this was not statistically significant.

Of all regions in England, the North West of England had the lowest employment rate for people aged 50 to 64 years at 66.6% and was lower compared to the average across England (72.4%), but this is not statistically significant. The highest employment rates for people aged 50 to 64 years were in the South West of England and East of England, with an employment rate of 76.1% in both areas, though these are not statistically significantly higher than the employment rate for those aged 50 to 64 years across England on average.

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 London (10.4 percentage points), whilst Wales has the largest gap (20.0 percentage points).

In 2025, the employment rate gap between the North East and the South East decreased for those aged 50 to 64 years from 11.5 percentage points in 2024 to 6.7 percentage points in 2025. Meanwhile, the employment rate gap between those aged 35 to 49 years in the same increased with the gap increasing from 7.3 percentage points in 2024 to 8.7 percentage points in 2025. Both of these changes were statistically significant.

The employment rate gap for those aged 50 to 64 between the North West and the South West statistically significantly increased from 5.9 percentage points in 2024 to 9.5 percentage points in 2025.

Employment rates of people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years by region, 2025, UK

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

Employment by ethnicity

Of ethnicities with reliable sample sizes, those of ‘Indian’ ethnicity reported the highest employment rate for those aged 50 to 64 years (81.7%) whilst those with a reported ethnicity of ‘Other ethnic group’ reported the lowest (60.2%).

The employment rate gap of individuals aged 50 to 64 years and aged 35 to 49 years with a reported ethnicity of ‘Chinese’ was 25.0 percentage points, this was the largest employment rate gap across ethnicity categories with reliable sample sizes. This was followed by those with a reported ethnicity of ‘Other ethnic group’, with the employment rate gap between those aged 35 to 49 and 50 to 64 years at 18.3 percentage points.

Employment by highest qualification

In general, 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 (78.8%) than those with no qualifications (47.1%).

The employment rate gap between individuals with no qualifications and those holding any type of qualification was larger than any employment rate gap observed between the levels of qualification obtained. For example, the employment rate gap between individuals aged 50 to 64 years with no qualifications and those with ‘GCSE grades A-C or equivalent’ was 22.2 percentage points in 2025. This is statistically significantly larger than the employment rate gap between those with ‘GCSE grades A-C or equivalent’ and degree level qualifications, with the gap standing at 9.5 percentage points in 2025. A similar trend can also be seen for those aged 35 to 49 years.

The employment rate of women aged 50 to 64 years with a degree or equivalent is 5.6 percentage points lower than that of men of the same age, a statistically significant difference. The employment rate of women aged 50 to 64 years with no qualifications (41.2%) is 12.2 percentage points lower than men of the same age (53.4%), this difference is also statistically significant but has decreased over the last year.

6. Economic inactivity

The economic inactivity rate for people aged 50 and 64 years in 2025 was 26.1%. This is a decrease of 1.2 percentage points compared to 2024. This decrease is statistically significant.

The economic inactivity rate for people aged 50 to 64 years fell steadily from 39.4% in 1984 through to 2019, when it stood at 25.5%. For the following three years, the rate increased up to 27.7% in 2022. It now remains around the same rate as that seen in 2022 and higher than that in 2019. An equivalent sustained increase after 2019 was not evident in the economic inactivity rate for individuals aged between 35 and 49, where the rate has been more consistent and was at 11.6% in 2025, falling below the rate in 2019.

From age 50 onwards, the economic inactivity rate generally increases with individual age. In 2025, at age 50 the inactivity rate was 14.2% which increased to 55.9% at age 65 and further increased to 69.8% at age 66, with both increases being statistically significant.

The economic inactivity rate of people aged 65 years has decreased over the last decade, from 71.9% in 2015 to 55.9% in 2025. This decrease is statistically significant.

For the five-year age bands for those aged between 50 and 69, the economic inactivity rate for those aged 50 to 54 rose after 2020, fluctuated, then fell back down to close to its 2020 level in 2025 (15.4% in 2024 compared to 15.2% in 2025). For those aged 55 to 59 there have been fluctuations since 2020, with 2025’s level 1.1 percentage points lower than 2020’s. For the 60 to 64 age band, 2025’s economic inactivity rate of 42.0% is 1.9 percentage points lower than 2025’s rate of 42.1%, while the 65 to 69 age band saw a fall of 4.2 percentage points from 74.9% in 2020 to 70.7% in 2025.

The long-term decrease in the economic inactivity rate for people aged between 50 and 64 has been largely driven by the decreased inactivity rate of women in this age range, which has decreased by 18.4 percentage points between 1995 and 2025 compared with a 6.4 percentage point decrease for men of the same age. The economic inactivity rate for women aged between 50 and 64 remains statistically significantly higher, at 30.0% in 2025 when compared to men of the same age (22.0%).

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

In 2025, Wales had the highest economic inactivity rate for people aged 50 to 64 (34.1%), this was statistically significantly higher than the economic inactivity rate in England (25.1%) and Scotland (28.5%), and also higher than Northern Ireland (33.6%) but this was not statistically significant.

Between 2024 and 2025, in Northern Ireland there was a non-statistically significant increase of 0.7 percentage points in the economic inactivity rate for people aged 50 to 64 years. The economic inactivity rate decreased in England (by 1.3 percentage points), Scotland (by 0.6 percentage points) and Wales (by 4.0 percentage points) over the same year, although these decreases were not statistically significant. 

The economic inactivity rate for people aged 50 to 64 years is higher than those aged 35 to 49 across the UK, with an economic inactivity rate gap of 14.5 percentage points. The gap in economic inactivity rate between those aged 50 to 64 and aged 35 to 49 years was highest in Wales (20.3 percentage points), compared to England (13.9 percentage points), Scotland (15.5 percentage points), and Northern Ireland (16.6 percentage points).

In all the regions in England, the South West had the lowest economic inactivity rate for those aged 50 to 64 years (21.7%), followed by the East of England (22.0%) and London (22.5%). The North West had the highest economic inactivity rate for those aged 50 to 64 years (30.5%), followed by the North East (29.0%) and Yorkshire and The Humber (27.9%). The inactivity rate gap between the North West and the South West was 8.8 percentage points, which is statistically significant.

Compared to 2024, the largest percentage point decrease in the economic inactivity rate for those aged 50 to 64 years was in the North East and the East of England (both 4.1 percentage points), however only the change in inactivity rate in the East of England was statistically significant. The largest percentage point increase was in the North West (1.7 percentage points), though this is not statistically significant.

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

In 2025 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 2.0 million were women.

Of the 3.5 million economically inactive individuals aged 50 to 64, 44.7% gave ‘sick or disabled’ as the main reason for not looking for work. This percentage has dropped by 0.1 percentage points since 2024, which is not statistically significant. A further 29.2% (in 2025) gave the reason ‘retired’ and 13.8% gave the reason ‘looking after home or family’. The remaining inactive people aged 50 to 64 years (12.2%) gave ‘other’ as the main reason for not looking for work.

In 2025, the proportion of economically inactive women aged 50 to 64 who gave ‘looking after home or family’ as the main reason for not looking for work (18.1%) was statistically significantly higher compared to economically inactive men of the same age (7.7%), with women being more than twice as likely than men to report this reason. Meanwhile, the proportion of economically inactive men aged 50 to 64 giving the main reason as ‘retired’ (32.5%) was statistically significantly higher than economically inactive women of the same age (26.9%).  

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

In 2025, there were around 572,000 people aged 50 to 64 years who were economically inactive but were willing to, or would like to, work, an increase of around 58,000 people since 2024. Of those 572,000, 66.1% gave the reason for not looking for work as being ‘sick, injured or disabled’, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from 2024. ‘Looking after home or family’ was given as a reason by 15.6% and 18.3% gave the reason of ‘other’.

Similarly to all economically inactive individuals aged between 50 and 64, among those who are willing or would like to work a higher proportion of women aged between 50 and 64 (21.0%) gave ‘looking after home and family’ as the main reason for not looking for work than men (9.6%). For women, this proportion was an increase of 4.1 percentage points compared with 2024, whereas the proportion for men decreased by 1.1 percentage points.

Inactivity and previous employment

In 2025, 50.4% of individuals aged 50 to 64 who were inactive left their job five or more years ago. A higher proportion of women (52.9%) aged 50 to 64 who were inactive left their job more than five years ago compared to men (46.8%). The next highest proportions were inactive individuals who had left their job in the last year (10.0%) and those who had left 1 year ago but less than 2 years ago (10.0%).

In 2025, the highest proportion of individuals aged 50 to 64 that were inactive and left their job in the last 2 years worked in the banking and finance sector (16.1%), followed by the education sector (15.3%).

Of those that are inactive due to retirement and left their job in the last 2 years, the highest proportion worked in the banking and finance sector (16.7%), followed by the human, health and social work sector (16.1%).

7. Unemployment

The employment rates for people aged 50 to 64 years from 2024 to 2025 increased, but the unemployment rate for the same age group also increased, by 0.7 percentage points from 2.4% in 2024 to 3.1% in 2025. This change is statistically significant.

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. Since 2023, the unemployment rates for these two groups have had the 50 to 64 group be higher in 2023 (2.6% aged 35 to 49 vs. 2.9% aged 50 to 64) and then the rate for those aged 35 to 49 be higher in 2024 (2.7% aged 35 to 49 vs. 2.4% aged 50 to 64). In 2025, both rates are equal at 3.1%. None of these differences are statistically significant, meaning these rates are very similar for both age groups.

Unemployment rate for people aged 35 to 49 years and people aged 50 to 64 years, 1984 to 2025, 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 2025 the difference in unemployment rate gap between men and women aged 50 to 64 increased from 0.5 percentage points in 2024 to 0.8 percentage points in 2025, and this change is statistically significant.

Those aged 50 to 64 years, who are unemployed, are more likely to be unemployed for a shorter amount of time than be classified as “long-term unemployed” (defined as being unemployed for 12 months or more). In 2025, 70.5% of people aged 50 to 64 years had been unemployed for less than 12 months and 29.5% had been unemployed for more than 12 months.

Despite this, of those who are unemployed, individuals aged 50 to 64 years are more likely to be classified as long-term unemployed than unemployed individuals aged 35 to 49. In 2025, out of those who are unemployed, the proportion of individuals aged 50 to 64 years who were long-term unemployed was 29.5% compared to 27.9% of those long-term unemployed aged 35 to 49 years, a 1.6 percentage point gap, which is not statistically significant. Over the past year, the gap between those long-term unemployed aged 50 to 64 years and those aged 35 to 49 years has decreased from 4.4 percentage points to 1.6 percentage points. This change is statistically significant.

Proportion of those unemployed for 12 months or longer, of those unemployed for people aged 35 to 49 and 50 to 64 years, 2024 and 2025

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

Of the 2.2 million people aged 50 to 64 years who were not in work in 2025 (those inactive or unemployed) and who had left their last job at some point in the last eight years, around one third (32.6%) gave a reason for leaving their last job as ‘retirement’. This has stayed the same since 2024 (also at 32.6%).

Those leaving their last job due to ‘health reasons’ has increased in the past year. In 2025, 28.3% of individuals had left their last job in the last eight years due to ‘health reasons’. This has increased by 0.5 percentage points since 2024, this increase is not statistically significant.

Women are more likely than men to have left work in the last eight years due to ‘looking after the home or family’ with 12.5% of women leaving due to this reason compared to 6.0% of men.

Reason for leaving last job, people aged 50 to 64 who are not in work, UK, 2024 and 2025

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

8. About these statistics

These ‘Official Statistics in Development’ have been compiled using data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). 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.

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), typical weighting methodology was reinstated from 13 February 2024. The new reweighted LFS estimates incorporate latest estimates of the size and composition of the UK population, improving representativeness. Since December 2024, reweighting has been applied from January to March 2019 onwards. Find more information on reweighting.

Due to the ongoing challenges with response rates and levels, LFS-based labour market statistics will be badged as ‘Official Statistics in Development’ until further review. This is in line with the letter from the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

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 publication page.

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

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.

Authors: Daniel Jendrzejewski and Ian Briedis

Lead Analyst: Matthew Collins

ISBN:  978-1-78659-884-4