Hard for males over 50 in redundancy

Many charities are urging the Government to take urgent action for men over 50 whose jobs have gone in the recession.

Official labour market figures released between July and September 2009 has said that this age group have a hard task finding employment after redundancy. Only 18.7 per cent of those over 50 are back in work in three months. This figure is far less than the age group, 25- to 34-year-olds, 40 per cent of which find work within three months.

Also revealed is the fact that unemployment of between six to 12 months has increased by more than double during this period for the over 50s. Women of this age group are not so badly affected as they are more able to take up part time employment and lower paid jobs. The coalition of charities: Age Concern and Help the Aged, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) want a new package of support to be announced in the Pre-Budget Report to include a number of key issues. These range from “intensive support” to prevent over 50 males becoming detached from the market, and the extension to this age group of the job guarantee for unemployed people aged between 18-24 if they have claimed Jobseekers' Allowance for nine months.

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